Little Dove
by nerdicornvixen
Summary: They killed her family. They killed her pack. She was out for retribution and their family, was enemy number one. Revenge at her fingertips, she would make them pay. Daniella came to Mystic Falls in search of another werewolf to add to her pack. Little did she know that coming to this town she would find family, love and revenge.
1. Chapter 1

Red. All I could remember seeing and feeling was red. Red from the flames that tore through our village. Red from the blood of our people soaking the ground and staining the white gown I wore. Red from the hate and anger that now burned through my soul.

"Daniella!"

Daniella...a word... a name... a name that sounded familiar to me but yet seemed nothing more than a distant memory. Turning my gaze in the direction of the voice, I could faintly make out a blackened figure standing among the flames. Without conscious thought my body slowly turned and began walking to the figure. Reaching a timid and shaking hand towards the owner of the voice that spoke that word in such desperation.

"Daniella...child are you injured?!"

All I could do was raise my eyebrows in confusion. Who was this person...

"Do you know me?" I asked timidly. The fear quite evident in my voice.

"Child now is not the time for games. We must hurry." The figure clasped a stained hand around my wrist and began violently pulling me away from the flames. Away from the blood. Away from the red...

*****************************Daniella'sPOV*************************

"Daniella...Daniella child, it's time to get up."

I reach over grabbing a pillow and cover my face. I sigh and shake my head. "Uncle...remind me why I have to go to school again?"

A grunt was the only response I received before I found myself tumbling onto the hardwood floor. I did nothing more than lay there unmoving.

"Daniella sweetheart you know why. We have found one of our own in this town and we need to be here to welcome them into our pack upon their changing. Now! Get up, get ready and get your ass to school! I'll be in the kitchen."

With a sigh of exasperation, I drag myself off the floor. Flipping my mattress back onto its frame I sulk towards my closet. Pulling the double doors open I begin looking for my outfit for the day.

"Hmm...something that says 'Hey! I'm a bad ass but I can also be friendly too!' Ugh...I think I've finally lost it...gotta stop talking to myself"

I reach up and grab a pair of black jeans, a red t-shirt and black leather jacket. Quickly dressing and slipping on my black combat boots I head for my bathroom. Quick brush of my hair and some eyeliner I make my way downstairs.

"Really Daniella...how do expect to make friends with putting in such little effort into your looks?"

I turn and glare at my cousin Mathias. Sure he's a foot taller than me at 6'0 but I could still kick his ass and he knows it.

"Hey Mat, how do you expect to make friends looking like a hobo?"

He looks down at his ripped blue jeans and ill-fitting blue button up while running a hand through his unruly black hair.

"I go for comfort. At least with me it doesn't look like I tried and then gave up half way through. What's your excuse? Maybe you could...I don't know. Try doing something with that brown mop on top of your head that you try to pass as hair."

I turn to walk into the kitchen flipping my waist length brown hair over my shoulder.

"I'll take your advice when you actually manage to beat me in a hunt. Until then..." I flip him off and walk into the kitchen.

"Hey shorty...are you two at it again?" I turn to my uncle Phillip and shake my head.

"What can I say? We bring out the best in each other. So, who's my target?" He shoves the last bit of his toast in his mouth and reaches into his bag, he pulls out a manila folder and opens it. Glancing down I see a boy around 'my age' talking on a phone.

"He's kind of cute. Tyler Lockwood. Uncle, Mason Lockwood. Wait, Mason?! You're shitting me right?"

"Wish I was shorty. But from what I've gathered he isn't anything like his uncle. He's a good kid. Only fault is being a little short tempered is all." He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his phone.

Holding up one finger in a gesture to give him a minute. Suddenly the Mission Impossible music starts playing.

"Your mission...should you choose to accept it is to befriend him and bring him into our pack." I face palm and shake my head.

"Really? How old are you? Five? Ugh fine I'll do it just please turn that noise off." I shake my head and make my way to the front door.

I look over to my cousin as he is lounging on the couch surfing through channels.

"Try to do something productive today." I grab my keys and my bag and head outside to my '67 Dodge Charger. Pearl white with black interior.

"Hello gorgeous. Ready to shake up this town?" I giggle to myself and slide into the driver's seat. Turning on the car and slipping on my sunglasses I put the car into reverse and start making my way into town. Passing the sign for town and I let out a dark chuckle.

"Mystic Falls. So good to be home."

***********************Elena's POV*************************

"Come on Care we have to get to the office and meet the new girl." I turn and start tapping my feet in exasperation at my best friend.

You would think after becoming a vampire she would learn the meaning behind move your ass but apparently that concept is still lost on her.

"I'm coming Elena. Jeez!" She reaches my side and begins keeping pace with me. "Well you would think after becoming a vampire you would be able to move a bit faster." I snap at her. She grabs my arm and stops me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I let out a sad sigh and shake my head.

"It's this whole Katherine thing. Stefan and I fighting. Uncle John. It just all has me on edge." I let out my own growl and start heading towards the office.

"Well I can't offer any advice since I've never been in your position but what I can say is that I am here for you. I'll kick any bitch's ass that tries to hurt you or move in on your man." I let out a light chuckle and toss my arm over her shoulder pulling her closer.

"I know you will. Now come on, we're running late."

We quickly make our way to the front of the school and hear the roar of an engine enter the parking lot. Looking behind us we see a white classic car pull into the parking spot next to Stefan's car. Shortly after a girl steps out. She has waist length brown hair that is close to my hair color. She's short though. Possibly no more than 5'2 but that's being a bit generous. She looks in our direction and smiles showing a row of perfect white teeth.

Without even speaking a word to her I could tell I was going to like her. Just something about her screamed safe and familiar. She started making her way towards us while tossing a book bag over her shoulder and spinning her keys around her finger. As she came closer I could see that she was pale but not completely white. There was a hint of olive complexion. Italian maybe?

"Hi! I'm Daniella Esiliare" I was right. Italian. "Hi! I'm Elena Gilbert and this is my best friend Caroline Forbes. Welcome to Mystic Falls High. We will be your tour guides for today. Have you got your schedule yet?" She shakes her head.

"Follow us. We will take you to the office to pick it up and walk you to your first class. So you're a senior huh?" She nods her head and takes off her glasses. She looks at me with her hazel eyes, "Yep. My uncle recently sold his company and he decided to buy a house here. I must admit I was a little nervous at first relocating to a new town but if everyone is as nice as you guys then I think I'll be just fine." I couldn't help but return her smile with one of my own.

"Well there is always something to do around here. Which is surprising for such a small town and..."

"Except shopping. Heaven knows this place is so backwater in decent clothing shops. But! There is always an event of some kind happening which means plenty of trips to Richmond for clothes." I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"Not everything revolves around clothes Caroline. So Daniella, where did you live prior to coming here?"

**********************Daniella's POV***********************

I could already tell I was going to like Elena. Sure she might be the doppelganger of that horrid bitch Tatia but personalities couldn't be any more different if they tried. Caroline seems like she would be a lot of fun to get drunk with or party with. I could already tell she and I will get into a lot of trouble.

"I actually moved here from Seattle. We only stay a few years in any one place since the three of us get bored easily but my uncle seems pretty determined to stick it out here in Mystic Falls."

We walk into the office and I get my schedule. Since they are juniors they don't have any classes with me but we do have lunch for 6th period.

"I have family that lives in Forks, Washington actually." I turn to Elena and raise an eyebrow. There's absolutely no way. "Really? What are their names?"

"Bella and Charlie Swan."

I stop and stare at her in utter shock. There's no way...well this explains a lot.

"Bella is my cousin on Renee's side." Distant cousin at least. Really, really distant cousin. Elena's face starts mirroring mine.

"So wait...does that make you two are like, second cousins?" We both nod our heads.

"Bella was the whole reason we moved to Seattle." Well we were actually secretly hoping she would have shown signs of the wolf genes but that unfortunately was not the case.

Now she was cold one and was blissfully happy with her coven. I should call her and chat. I'm sure she will get excited about this. I find myself pulled from my thoughts by a hug from Elena

. "This is so great. I thought the only family I would have left in Mystic Falls would be Jeremy and Jenna. Please say you'll come over after school to meet them? Maybe you can bring your uncle and cousin?" I couldn't help but cave under her pleading look.

"I'll call Phillip and Mathias at lunch and see what they say." She lets out an ear piercing scream and starts jumping up and down.

Mystic Falls is going to be one hell of a ride. I could already tell. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. I slowly make my way to the cafeteria keeping an eye out for Tyler. I managed to have one class so far with him but he sat on the opposite side of the room from me so it didn't really give me much of a chance to speak with him but I could tell he wanted to. I mean, I'm not the prettiest girl by any means but I'm not a hag either.

I walk into the cafeteria and start looking for Elena or Caroline.

"Daniella!" I turn towards the voice. Red. I shake my head and start making my way over to Elena with what my cousin Mat dubs my 'innocent smile'. I do a quick scan of the table and saw Caroline. A witch and another vampire. I'll be damned...Ripper...well this should be fun. I take a seat between Caroline and Elena across from the witch.

"Guys this is my cousin Daniella. Daniella this is Bonnie" witch.

"And my boyfriend Stefan." Ripper.

Bonnie reaches out her hand and gives me a fake smile. "Hi Daniella, it's nice to meet you."

I arch an eyebrow at her and glance to her hand and back to her eyes. I reach out and take her hand. I could see her immediately freeze as my past runs through her eyes. She comes out of it so quickly I doubt anyone even noticed. Maybe Stefan but doubtful. She softens her eyes and smile. Ugh...pity...I hate pity.

"I hope we can be friends. I'm sure you and I will have a lot to talk about." Subtle witch. Real subtle.

I turn to Stefan and the second our eyes meet I could tell he immediately remembered me. Only I used to be blonde. Not one of my best decades but hey, at least I had a good time.

"Nice to meet you Daniella. How come I never heard about you before?" I give him a sly smile.

"That's because Elena and I didn't realize we were cousins till today. Her uncle Charlie used to be married to my aunt Renee." He gets a skeptical look on his face and drops the issue.

"Well I hope you enjoy your time in Mystic Falls. I'm sure we all will be hanging out quite often." I nod my head and turn my attention to a loud laugh coming from a couple of tables away.

I turn to look and the laugh was coming from Tyler. Guess I should go introduce myself. "If you guys will excuse me for a second. I'm going to introduce myself to some more people." I stand up quickly and make my way over to his table. Jocks. So he's athletic. Well guess that will be my in. I reach the table and everyone stops talking. Each of them sizing me up.

"Hi. I'm Daniella Esiliare. Just moved here from Seattle. I see you guys are wearing letterman jackets. Would you mind telling me what sports the school offers?"

Tyler stands up and sticks his hand out. "Tyler Lockwood. Well that all depends. What sports are you interested in? Given your build I would peg you for a gymnast but the school doesn't offer that as a sport. Are you into track?"

I nod my head. "I am actually. I really enjoy free running. Guess I'll have to get my gymnastics fix in that way. When does the season start?" I could see his eyes light up with excitement.

"It starts in Spring. It's nice to see a girl take interest in sports. If you make the team you will be the only girl. Hope that isn't too much pressure?"

I give him a suggestive smirk. "Not at all. I've always managed to keep up with the boys so it shouldn't be a problem." I could immediately tell I had him hooked.

"Well Tyler, it was nice meeting you but I should get back over to my cousin. I'll see you around." I turn on my heel and make my way back over to Elena. She and Caroline have confused looks on their face as I take my seat.

Caroline bumps my shoulder, "I really hope you aren't going to try and move in on my man." I internally roll my eyes. "I'm not going to Caroline but if you are asking if I find him attractive then yes I do." She lets out a squeal and giggle. I could see Stefan flinch at the piercing noise.

"Well I bet you will be happy to know that his mom is planning a ball in a few weeks."

Every wolf knows that the Lockwood's are descended from one of the stronger lines. Of course our line were the alphas. Well technically still are but it's kind of hard to stake your claim as alpha when you have to keep your line hidden from the same beasts that slaughtered most of us. As my mind drifts to that family as it so often does I could see my vision blurring over in red. I put my head down and cover my eyes with my sunglasses to hide the change in color. While my eyes are normally hazel when I'm in a good mood and green when I'm sad. When I get that angry they turn blood red. That's how our line stands out from the others as the true alphas. Most have green or yellow but only our line has red.

"Hey Daniella wait up."

I look over my shoulder and see Bonnie running up to me. "What's up Bonnie?"

She gives me a soft smile. "I just wanted to let you know that your secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone. I can tell you are one of the goods ones."

I can feel my jaw slacken at her words and she lets out a chuckle. " I mean, I'm not all that excited about your werewolf side or vamp side but it's nice to know I'm no longer the only witch in town."

I give her my own soft smile. "I appreciate that Bonnie. It's nice knowing that there is someone else I can relate to. My uncle and cousin are only wolves/vamps. So I've been pretty isolated in the magic side of things." She nods her head.

"If you aren't busy for dinner, did you want to meet up at the grill and we can get to know each other?" I nod my head. "That sounds really awesome actually. 7 work for you?" She nods her head. "I'll see you then. Later Bonnie." She turns with a wave.

"Later Dani"

I start making my way to my car. As I lean against it waiting for Elena to come out I could feel the hair on the back of my neck begin to stand up. I immediately start searching the trees across the lot. After a few seconds I make eye contact the bane of my existence. Fucking Katherine. I start making my way over. She does her three finger wave and takes off. Shit! If she's in town, my cousin is a doppelganger that only means one thing. Klaus.

Looks like I'm going to have to postpone our visit. She needs to be dealt with immediately. I turn to see Elena coming over towards me holding hands with Stefan.

"Hey, are you ready?" I give her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Elena. Gonna have to rain check. I just saw someone I haven't seen in a long time and let's just say, she always puts me in a foul mood."

Should I let them in that I know? Fuck it.

"She looks exactly like you but shares the same personality as Tatia." I immediately saw the smile drop from her face and Stefan step in front of her. I put my hands up.

"Relax Ripper. I'm not going to hurt her. She really is my cousin. I'll explain everything in due time but know we aren't a threat to anyone. I protect my kin and that includes Elena. But if you'll excuse me, I have a bitch to track." I slide into my car and peel out of the parking lot.

I make the fifteen-minute trip home in 7 and turn onto our long ass drive. Really, who needs a drive way this long. I pull the car to the stop and run into the house.

"Uncle!" He and Mat come running down the stairs. "What is it child?"

I can feel my eyes start glowing and my canines get longer. "Katherine." Both of their eyes start glowing red. "Where did you see her?"

"Across from the school. I could tell she was not expecting to see me. We need to hunt her down. Immediately. If word gets back to Klaus that she has found the doppelganger, then we are screwed."

My uncle holds his hands up to stop me. "Doppelganger? You are saying Elena Gilbert is the Petrova doppelganger?" I nod my head. "She's also Charlie's niece. So that means she's kin and we protect kin." He nods his head and I can see my cousin vibrating in place.

I walk over to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "We will kill her Mat. She will rue the day she crossed us." He nods his head and his eyes turn back to their murky grey.

"We hunt for her tonight. She is our target. No other vampires will be killed unless they provoke us." They both nod to me. "Sunset is at 8:30. I will meet you all at the bar in town at that time. Uncle, please bring my gear."

He nods his head. I make my way upstairs to make a few phone calls. If we are potentially dealing with originals, then we need the whole pack.

"Michael, collect the pack. All of them." I could hear his breath hitch.

"You found him?" I start pacing my room in anticipation.

"He's not here yet but everything is coming together for the curse to be broken. Turns out my cousin is the doppelganger and Katherine is here. We are going to head out to deal with her tonight. I need you by Saturday night. If for some reason, we can't get her tonight." He lets out a dry chuckle.

"One more thing Michael, the Ripper is in town and I stake my car that his brother is here too. They are off limits unless they give us provocation. All vampires with the exception of Katherine are off limits unless we are provoked." He lets out a frustrated whine.

"I'll never understand how you are so accepting of our natural enemy."

"What can I say? I'm a pacifist at heart." I can practically see him rolling his eyes. "Sure boss. Whatever you say."

"Just get the pack and get here." I hang up the phone and toss it on my bed.

Casting my glance to the ceiling I let out a heavy sigh. "Why can't I just be a normal girl?" I see movement at my door and a snort.

"Maybe because you talk to yourself? I mean, any logical person knows that is not by any means normal." I sit up and stare at the brightest baby blue eyes. There's no mistaking who those eyes belong to since I have never seen their like.

"Damon. I figured you were in town considering I've already ran into your brother." He comes have and pulls me up into a hug. "How have you been Ella?" my response was to knee him in the stomach.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" I cross my arms and scoff at him. "Like you don't know. New York 1943. You ditched me in that vamp nest and I had to fight my way out." He lets out a dark laugh.

"Oh...yeah not one of my finer moments. But hey, look at you. Still in one piece." I shake my head as that trade mark smirk appears on his face.

"Why can't I ever stay mad at you?" He shrugs his shoulders. "Well considering I was your first love, that tends to happen." My mood immediately darkens.

"You weren't my first love Damon. We've been over this." he drops his smirk and pulls me into another hug. "I know Ella. I was just having a bit of fun I didn't mean anything by it." I push him away from me, my hands on his shoulders.

"Damon...when did you turn into such a softie?" His smirk returns and his eyes darken "I'm still me but..." I interrupt him "You flipped the switch didn't you? Is Damon Salvatore actually embracing his humanity?" He scoffs at me and starts looking around my room.

"So, what are your plans?" I immediately know he is referring to Katherine. I take a seat back on my bed.

"I know how you feel about her but this is personal. Don't get in our way." He nods his head.

"Things are different now. She's gone after people I have come to care about. I can't have her hurting anyone else." I could hardly believe what I was hearing. But shit, I wasn't going to push the issue.

"We are going hunting for her tonight. Care to join?" I could see pause in his perusal of my room at my offer. "I'm warning you Damon. Friend or not, I will stop you." He flashed a smile at me over his shoulder. "Don't you mean lover?" I let out a laugh.

"Sure. Former lover if that is what you want to be labeled as. Former lover forever stuck in the friend zone?" He flashes over to me and pushes me back on the bed.

"Oh come on, you know you can't resist me." I can feel my breath quicken at his proximity. I lean up till our lips are nearly touching. "Whatever helps you sleep at night buttercup." He gives me a genuine smile. "And as much fun as this has been Damon, I do have to head out. I'm meeting the local witch for dinner."

I pull up outside the Mystic Grill. Original. I slide out of my car and walk into the building. There was a fair amount of people already in the place. I see Bonnie sitting at a booth by herself. I make my way over and take a seat across from her.

"Hey Dani. I heard your plans fell through with Elena so I was a bit surprised when you said you were still willing to have dinner." I give her a gentle smile.

"Well I had to inform my family of Katherine's presence in Mystic Falls. So, how long have you been practicing?" We proceed to discuss various spells and potions until I notice the time on the clock. It's 8:25.

"Hey Bonnie. I'm gonna have to call it a night. I will see you at school tomorrow okay?" She nods her head and waves as I walk out of the grill. I see my cousin has already taken my car home given that my uncles SUV is sitting in the same spot my car was sitting in. Thank goodness for spare keys. My uncle holds out a bag to me.

I slip into the back seat and change my shirt into a black tank and place my fun holster over my shoulders after verifying my nines are loaded with wooden bullets dipped in vervain. I replace my leather coat and pull my hair into a high pony tail. I place a dagger in my shoes. Once I'm sure I'm ready I exit the car to see my uncle and cousin dressed identical to me.

"You two ready?" We nod our heads. "If we can put her down and take her back for questioning we do that. Only kill if absolutely necessary" I give my uncle a look like he is deranged.

"You're kidding right? We tried that before. Do you remember what happened? Cause I sure as hell do." My uncle rises to his full height at 6'4 and looks down on me. "I'm giving an alpha order. You will obey." I look down in submission and nod my head.

"Alright. Let's move out. We will start from where you saw her today and see if we can pick up her trail."

I lead them to the school and there in the field between the parking lot and tree line is Katherine in all of her slutty glory. She gives us a giggle and smile. "If it isn't my favorite mutts. Hope you are all up to date on your shots. I hear worms can be nasty business." I can feel my eyes shift color.

I give her a smirk to rival Damon's, "If it isn't our favorite skank. Still running around like a bitch in heat?" I could see her eyes narrow at me. "Just because you enjoy my sloppy seconds..." Before she can finish I have one of my guns out and have already put a bullet into one of her knee caps. She lets out a scream of pain and I couldn't help but bask in the sound of it.

Keeping my gun up I begin walking towards her only to be blind-sided by someone tackling me to the ground causing me to drop my gun. I manage to push the person off of me only to see Katherine make a run for it and for my family to give chase. I turn to the person who tackled me. I come face to face with an unknown vampire. I feel my canines grow and the claws on my hands extend. My eye sight turning red. The vampire lunges at me but before it can reach me I already have my hand wrapped around its throat.

He growls at me and punches me in the jaw. I feel my head snap to the side and tighten my hand while meeting its eyes again. Before he can swing again I crush his wind pipe and pull his throat out. His eyes widen as he brings his hands up to cover his wounds. I use my powers to freeze him in place and watch as the life pours from his throat.

"I really hate when people don't answer my questions." I see Damon and Stefan enter the field from the tree line across from me. "Boys, so nice of you to join me. Just in time for the show."


	2. Chapter 2

**********************************Damon's POV************************************

"Boys, so nice of you to join me. Just in time for the show."

I smile wickedly to Ella. "By all means doll face, carry on." I can feel Stefan turn to me and glare with a condescending look on his face. Which was, let's face it, not doing anything for my buzz. "Damon, if this vampire is working with Katherine then we need to question him. He's no good to us dead."

I shake my head at him, "Sorry brother but once Ella gets her sights set on a kill there is no getting between that. Trust me, I learned the hard way." I remembered the time I got between her and a hunt, took me days to recover. I was hard pressed to not shudder at the memory. He turned his gaze back to Ella and started stomping like a child towards her.

"Oh well, your funeral" I mumble under my breath.

"Daniella. Just let me take him. You don't have to kill him. We both know you are better than this." She gave him a look like he was crazy. "You're kidding me right Stefan? You of all people telling me I'm better than this? You know what I'm capable of to a degree. I mean, come on, you weren't just any ripper. You were 'The Ripper' for Christ's sake. Now you've gone all soft and I don't like it."

The distraction from my brother caused her to lose her hold on the vampire and he lunged at her. I could make out the last few pumps of his heart before she dropped it on the ground. That doesn't make sense. She's a wolf. Sure she's stronger than you average human but not that strong. I can see her approaching Stefan with anger clearly written on her face but he, surprisingly, doesn't back down.

"You've proved your point Dani. You're a bad ass. But tell me, did you learn anything from him? If there are more of them? What are they after? What Katherine's motive is?"

With each rhetorical question I can see her eyes glowing brighter and a growl building in her chest. At a speed I can barely comprehend, I see her raise her gun to the right and the loud crack was the only indication of the approaching vampire. He drops with a bullet to his head and I had to resist the urge to clap.

"You want to ask your questions Stefan? Then by all means." She gestures to the downed vampire with her gun. "Have at it."

I see a faint smile on my brothers face. I know that face. That's not a good face. "Dani, you have always been my favorite." He kisses her forehead and walks towards the vampire that is laying unmoving on the ground. The mood swing in my brother left me completely shaken. What the hell just happened and why do I feel like I just stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone?

She looks at me with her eyes back to normal and just shrugs her shoulders, "What?" I could only stand there confused.

Did my brother really just do that? Ella likes her personal space and she didn't seem the least bit bothered by his sign of affection. She wouldn't have? Surely she has better taste than that. "You didn't...you know...with Stefan did you?" She starts laughing. God when did I become such a bitch?

"The word you are looking for is sex, Damon." I couldn't help but feel restless under the condescending laugh. "I've never slept with your brother. He's too broody for my tastes and I don't keep things in the family."

I look over to Stefan dragging the vampire over towards us whistling Dixie. "Really Stefan? Dixie?" He just smiles at her and keeps going.

The longer I'm with these two the more unsettling this situation becomes. Not so much with my brother because let's face it, everyone knows he's got a few screws loose. Especially since his time off the wagon, but Ella? There was once a time where she would feel conflicted about a kill. Something isn't right at all.

"Ella, doll face, is everything okay?" She looks at me like I grew another head. "Uh...yeah. Why?" I put both hands up in defense. "No reason. Just. Once upon a time you would have felt some guilt or remorse over something like this. I've never really seen you enjoy it."

She shrugs her shoulders and begins walking towards the forest that her uncle and cousin left through. "Things are going to come to a head Damon. Soon you're going to see sides of me that may question whether you've ever known me at all." As if her cryptic statement wasn't bad enough, it was like she just disappeared. "What the hell?" Fuck my life. I'm really getting too old for this shit.

***********************************Elena POV**************************************

It didn't make any sense. How did Daniella know about Katherine? How did she know about Tatia? Does she know I'm the Petrova doppelganger? Is that really why she is here? No that couldn't be right. I'm good at reading people but something isn't adding up.

"Hey Elena. What are doing home? I figured you would be at the boarding house." I smile at Jenna. "Stefan said he had some things to take care of tonight so I won't be going over there. Can I help with dinner?" She nods her head and we make our way into the kitchen. She pops open a bottle of wine while I start preheating the oven. "So, how are things between you and Alaric?" She stops mid pour and gets a wistful look on her face.

"Amazing. You would think him being into history so much that we wouldn't have anything to talk about but actually we never run out of things to talk about." I smiled and nodded my head. "I know what you mean. Stefan is such an old soul you would think we wouldn't have anything to talk about either but we always do."

Jenna reaches into the cupboard and pulls down another wine glass. "We are going to have a toast." She fills my glass and hands it to me. "To the men in our lives. May we never run out of things to talk about."

"Jenna, not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but why are you giving me wine?" She smiles, "I've tried the controlling and overbearing approach to you and Jeremy, and that totally blew up in my face. I'm hoping that maybe a more laid back approach will work."

I could tell she was more trying to convince herself than me but hell, I wasn't going to argue. I told her about Daniella and she seemed genuinely excited about it. "That's great Elena. What's she like?"

I found myself hard pressed to answer that question. I barely knew her and now knowing she may be a threat, I figured just the basics would be best. "She seems nice and just as excited about the prospect of having more family. I think you'll like her."

"As long as she isn't anything like Renee. Your aunt was a real piece of work. Total space case and poor Bella didn't have much of a childhood because of her. We all cried the day she got custody of Bella."

Conversation slowly moved from the Swans to what was going on in our everyday lives. We ate dinner, and although we both agreed we shouldn't be allowed near a stove or oven, we managed to eat it. Sat some point we found ourselves moving onto our second bottle and sprawling out in the living room. I couldn't help but feel happy about this time with Jenna. Where the supernatural seemed to disappear and I was back to just being a seventeen-year-old girl.

Jenna and I were on our third bottle, laughing at the stupidest of things, when Jer comes home. "Do I even want to know how much you two have had to drink? Better yet, Aunt Jenna why did you give Elena alcohol?" She mumbles something about parenting and I just shook my head at her.

"Well I am heading up to bed. You two have fun." I jump up and throw my arms around Jeremy. "Jer, do you have any idea how happy I am to have you for my brother?" He just looks at me like I'm nuts and removes my arms from his shoulders. "Elena, you're drunk and I'm still pissed at you. When you decide to stop wiping my mind and controlling my life, then maybe I'll consider forgiving you. Until then, don't talk to me." He then makes a break for the stairs, stomping as he goes.

I pout and head back to the couch only to see Aunt Jenna passed out. Covering her with a throw that was on the back of the couch, I start heading for the stairs when there is a knock on the door.

I open it to reveal Damon and to say he looked a bit frazzled would be an understatement. "Damon, what are you doing here?" He walks in and blurs upstairs. Closing the door, I follow him upstairs only to find him pacing in my bedroom. "Damon, what the hell is going on?" He stops and runs his hands through his hair.

"It's Daniella. Something isn't right."

"Is she okay?" I can feel the nagging fear of loss creeping its way into my heart. "She's physically fine. But mentally, I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean? Can you, I don't know, maybe give me some context? Cause right now you aren't making a whole lot of sense." He stops and lets out a sigh. I can see the weight of whatever this is to cause his shoulders to drop.

"If I have to give you context then you probably don't know everything yet and unfortunately it's not my place to tell you. Hell, I don't think I even know everything. Just, keep an eye on her and let me know if anything seems not right. No matter how small it is." I start to feel the panic creeping back in. "Is she dangerous? Is she going to hurt someone?" He nods his head. "She is but you have nothing to worry about. From what Stefan told me, you are her family and that is one of the best places you can find yourself with her." With that, he was gone.

What the hell was that all about? I gave up after an hour trying to figure out what all the cryptic things Damon was saying meant and fell into a dreamless sleep. Too bad the next morning I was going to wake up with one hell of a hangover.

***********************************Daniella's POV**********************************

"What the hell do you mean she got away?" I yell out as I put my fist through a tree. "There were others. I'm not sure where the hell they came from but there were too many." I let out a sigh.

"This is why you should have just let me kill her, but no!" I say tossing my hands up in the air, "You've always had a soft spot for that whore and I'll never understand why!" My uncle puts his head down. It was clear he was ashamed of that fact.

"I know. It's just. I know everything she ever said and did was a lie. I've loved that woman for over three hundred years and I hate myself for it every day. Every time I am convinced I have the willpower to put her down something stops me."

"Well there's not shit we can do about it now. Where's Mat?"

"He went home. He's not exactly happy with me either." He says pushing himself away from the tree he was propped up against. He lights the pile of vampire bodies on fire to cover our tracks and looks away into the forest. "I'll meet you back at the house. I'm going for a run." I nod my head and watch him disappear into the woods.

I start heading towards home when my phone starts vibrating. I pull it out and can't help but smile. "Paul, how's my favorite shifter?" He lets out a chuckle. "I'm good. I just wanted to touch base with you and see how your first day of school went and how things are turning out."

I let out a sigh and stop walking to kick at the ground. "Well, I became reunited with family I didn't even know I had and I've made some friends." He's quiet for a minute, "There's something you are leaving out. I know you girl. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?" I let out a dry laugh. I hate how well he knows me sometimes.

"Nothing for you to worry yourself with. How are things on the rez? Things still quiet?"

"Yeah. Things have been boring since the Volturi came here. It's like the entire state has become a no leech zone." I smile to myself at the memory of the Volturi tucking tail and running away. "Yeah that was a close call but, since everyone was left alive, I guess others figure it's a protected area. If they only knew."

"Yeah. The pack is starting to get a bit restless because of it. Everyone's itching for some action, which leads me to the reason I'm calling. If anything goes down and you need the pack, you let me know. We owe you."

"I'll let you know if I need you guys. Listen, I'll give you a call later. Gotta call it a night. You know, school and all that." He lets out another sigh. "Alright baby girl." With that he hung up leaving me to the quiet woods around me.

I continue my walk towards home and quickly found myself falling into memories that should have been forgotten. It's never good for me to be left to my thoughts seeing as it gives me too much time to remember when all I wish I could do was forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _"Come out, come out where ever you are."_

 _I start tiptoeing away from the voice of my best friend. I could hear him getting closer and feeling the excitement building, I start climbing a tree to hide. Not moments later I see a head of blonde curls pass under the tree and stop. It takes all of my restraint not to fall into a fit of giggles. Using my magic, I cause some bushes closer to the base of the tree I was in to rustle. He turns his head and moves towards them only to become disappointed when I am not there._

 _"Come on Daniella. You cannot hide from me forever." I smile to myself. Jumping down, I tackle him to the ground. "You know Nik; you really should learn to look up." He rolls me off of him and I can't help but giggle._

 _"And you, should act more like a lady. Ladies do not climb trees my dear." I cannot help but blush at the endearment. His hand cups my face to tilt my head up to look at him. And then I am lost in the endless depths of blue and green. "Allow me to court you." I feel my eyes widen and my breath catch itself._

 _"Do you truly mean that? What of Tatia?" His eyes darken and he looks away._

 _"She loves Elijah. Not me." I couldn't believe the words that just left his mouth. I stand up and brush off the leaves from my red dress. "So Tatia chooses your brother and you then have an epiphany that I am who you want?" He stands and takes my face in his hands. "No my little dove. It's as if I have been released from some spell and now I can see you clearly."_

 _"Do you still love her?" He looks away from me with a broken and sad look on his face. "I would be lying if I said I did not." I shake my head refusing to let my tears fall. "I will not be second to any woman. I am either first or none at all. You do know Kol has already asked to court me? I told him I would give it consideration because I was holding out hope for you. But now, I guess I will be your sister instead of your wife." With that and my tears; I turn and run._

 _By the time I approach their village, my tears have dried and my swollen eyes have gone down almost completely. Making my way slowly to the Mickaelson's home, I knock on the door to see Finn open the door to greet me. "Aww Daniella. What brings you by today?"_

 _I smile my best at Finn to try and happier than I was. "I was hoping to see Kol. Is he at home?" He nods his head and Kol comes to the door moments later giving me the brightest grin he could. "My dear Ellie. Have you given it consideration?"_

 _"I have. I would very much like to start our courtship if you would still have me." I never thought Kol could look happier than that moment. He pulls me into a hug and spins me around laughing in sheer happiness. "We are to be married then! I will have our fathers meet and we will settle your dowry and then we will be wed." I could not help but feel the excitement, but at the same time there was a part of me that held out hope that maybe one day Nik will be mine._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I make my way towards the front door of my home and feel the very real tears sliding down my face. Here I am. Thousand years later still in love with one of the men who destroyed my village. Slaughtered my parents and left me an orphan. The man who cursed me to this half-life. Walking into my home, I immediately make my way up the stairs. Upon entering my room, I begin stripping on my way to the bathroom. Turning the water as hot as I can handle, I climb into the shower and sit down. Mentally willing the hot to water wash away the guilt. The guilt for loving a man I am going to have to kill.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This chapter is about double what I usually post because I just couldn't find a good stopping point. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please like and review!

The first week of school flew by but I kept my distance from everyone. I wasn't ready to answer their questions and I knew that when they got the answers, things would change. Damon always knew that I was different. That I was immortal. He just figured I had done some 'witchy hoodoo' as he liked to call it and made myself and my family immortal. Sure he was correct to a degree but if he knew the truth. If any of them knew the whole truth, I don't know how they would handle it.

Since Klaus hadn't shown up yet, I told my wolf pack to hang out in the mountains. Too many new people around town may make Klaus panic and snatch Elena. Speaking of Elene, she had managed to finally get my over to her house. Jenna was slowly becoming my favorite human. She had such a spark in her and so much life that it was infectious. I always felt so human around her.

It was the end of the day Friday and school was finally over for the week. I had planned on going home and soaking in the tub to wash away the stress that managed to accumulate from all the teenage angst. I should have known it wouldn't go as planned. Nothing every does.

As I was making my way out of the double doors on the front of school, I felt two hands grab my arms. Damon and Stefan Salvatore. I always did like them better when they were at odds. They were nearly unstoppable when they were working together.

"What the hell are you two doing?" They both smiled at me and it was at that moment I knew they were finally going to try and get their answers. Dragging me to the edge of the woods, they began ghosting through the trees and we ended up in front of their house.

"If you wanted to have a slumber party girls, all you had to do was ask." They let me go as soon as I was inside. Making my way into the library, I decided a drink, or fifty, was in order for this walk. I walk over and pour myself a drink before taking a seat and propping my legs up.

"We didn't want to have to take this route but you aren't leaving us much of a choice." I look over at Stefan and cock my head to the side. "So you figure you could force the answers out of me? You both know if I wanted to leave, you couldn't stop me."

"I figured since we both know you, you would be willing to speak to us and tell us what's going on. Why you are in Mystic Falls and how you are really related to Elena."

Deciding I was far too sober for this talk, I get up and grab the bottle. Slamming my drink back, I toss the tumbler into the fire and take a swig from the bottle.

"Well I hope you boys are comfortable." I really hated talking about this which is why I never did but I knew that given the position we were in, there wasn't much of a choice.

"I was 17 when the attacks started. They lasted for three weeks. A few people here and there began disappearing. No one thought anything of it. Wild animals were prominent in the area and people were known to get killed on occasion. We didn't realize how truly dire things were until the night I lost nearly everything. My father. My mother. My baby brother." Letting out a heavy breath, I stare unseeing into the fire as I continue.

"The final attack was the night of a full moon. A month before my marriage to my betrothed was to take place. First to go down were the towns nightly patrols. Then the fires started. Each house was lit on fire on the back. Back then towns were built in a circular fashion with the town market in the middle and because of this, the fire formed a barrier between us and escape. Due to the fires everyone fled from their homes and huddled into the center of the village.

"We were intent to wait the fire out but some of the people thought they could gather enough water to extinguish at least one of the houses so we could escape. As soon as they disappeared between the houses they didn't come back out." I took another long drink from the bottle in my hand.

"Some assumed the smoke was too much so others went to help them. Then they didn't return either. The moon had started to rise and the wolves of the town started the transformation. We were safe since they were our pack mates but some who had married into the families of the pack were not. Once they transformed, they began slaughtering those that were once family. Friends. Neighbors. My own father killed my mother and my baby brother. My brother had not inherited the curse and my mother was a witch. No sooner was my brother dead then did I witness my father's head ripped from his body.

"I had not the heart to look at the attacker. My eyes were transfixed on my family. My older brother was out of town visiting our neighboring village so he was free from the carnage. My uncle and cousin were with him that night so I was completely alone. I stared at their bodies until the sun rose. I found myself the last left alive in the entire town of two hundred. I then heard my uncle screaming my name and that seemed to break me out of my shocked state. I looked out to the town and houses were still burning. Blood flowed and the entire ground was flooded with it. My favorite white dress was stained with the flesh and blood of my family.

"When I reached my uncle we fled to the neighboring town that they were in during the attack. On the way he told me that one of the prestigious families had been seen returning home in the early hours of the morning covered in blood. It was at that moment I knew that I had to figure out whatever secret they had to help avenge my family. So after some misdirection, I was able to discover their secret.

"Luckily the things I needed were... still fresh. So I stole everything and we fled. I repeated the spell but given one of the ingredients was not as fresh as was called for, it actually worked in our favor. Using my magic, I was able to change what remained of my family into hybrids. They are part vampire part werewolf while I am equal parts werewolf, vampire and witch. Well, we aren't truly vampires. We have no intolerance to vervain or sunlight. A special stake is needed to kill us.

"We do have to feed from a vein once a month if we don't want to start weakening. We should feed more often so we are stronger. However, as you both know, when you change the balance with nature, there is a price to be paid. Ours is, we have to completely drain our victim. While we have complete control around blood we lose all control while feeding. We are quite literally unable to stop. If we try, we are overcome with a crippling pain. Also, we can no longer transform into wolves. We are forever bound to be trapped.

"We seek out other wolves and help them through the transition if they are already changing. If they aren't, we present them the option to complete the final requirement to begin the change. We then help keep them away from innocents while they are transformed. If they choose not to complete the transition, then we leave them alone to their lives. We originally came to this town to try and recruit Tyler Lockwood but as you can see, other things have caused it to take the back burner."

By the time I was done with my story there were half dozen empty bottles scattered on the carpet. Damon and Stefan were sitting completely still in complete silence.

"Why did they leave you alive?" I looked over at Damon with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would the attackers leave you alive but kill everyone else?"

I let out a sigh. "The family that was responsible knew me. But whether that is truly the reason they left me alive, I don't know." It killed me to lie to Damon but he couldn't know the real reason. The reason being I was to be part of their family one day.

"Who was the family responsible?" I let out a long sigh and smile wearily at Stefan.

"The Mickaelsons. The Originals." They both stopped breathing at that moment.

"Dani, how old are you?" I let out a humorless laugh.

"I'm as old as they are. I used the dead blood of Tatia to perform the same spell their mother did. But since she was dead, it had slightly different results."

"Here I always thought I was robbing the cradle but you are quite literally as old as dirt." I scowled at Damon and threw an empty bottle at his head. He easily caught it and set it down.

"You still haven't explained how you are related to Elena." Stefan says.

I nod my head in agreement. "My brother that was away the night of the attack was with his wife since she had just given birth to a son. We watched over his bloodline and Elena's uncle Charlie married Renee who was descended from that bloodline. Elena and I aren't blood related but through marriage in an odd way. I am her second aunt way removed." I chuckle at my own crappy joke.

"So, now that Katherine is here and you know Elena is the doppelganger, what are your plans?" I sigh at Stefan.

"You know you have always been the biggest buzz kill. Even when we were tearing shit up together." I shake my head and sit up from position on the couch opposite them.

"I am going to kill Katherine. I am going to protect Elena and I will kill anyone who tries to stop me from doing either. I have been doing some thinking this past week. If Katherine is here and she knows of Elena, that means she will try and sell her to the highest bidder. Doppelganger blood has powerful magical properties. So in the grand scheme of things, as long as Elena is human, she isn't safe."

Stefan narrowed his eyes at me as did Damon. "I have no plans on turning her or saying she should be turned but you both need to face the reality that since Katherine knows Elena exists the world does. She. Will. Never. Be. Safe."

Damon scoffed at me. "Always the one for the dramatics. That's a pretty big assumption." I shake my head. "Always prepare for the worse but hope for the best. That's what has kept me alive for a thousand years Damon. We both know Katherine's mouth is as loose as the sand trap between her legs."

Stefan tried to hold back the snort at my comparison. "Laugh it up squirrel muncher. Last time I heard you both have stuck your dicks in her. And for the record Damon, if I would have known before I slept with you that the resident Petrova vamp-whore had, I wouldn't have slept with you either. When I found out I went and had myself checked by every witch I knew. There's no telling what kind of vampire herps that bitch could be carrying." I shiver in disgust and get up. With a long stretch I make my way to the door.

"Where are you going Dani?" I smile, "Out. You guys ran out of booze and it's still early. Why, did you two want to join me?" They both grab their jackets and we run to the grill. Me of course leaving their asses in the dust. It was a good thirty seconds later they arrived and I was already inside sitting at the bar.

About an hour into our drinks Jeremy and Caroline come running with Bonnie.

"Oh god Stefan!" We turn on our seats and can see the horror on their faces.

"Someone has taken Elena. We can't find her. Bonnie has been trying to locate her but she is having trouble." I look to Bonnie with a raised eyebrow.

"How is that possible? Bennet witches are one of the most powerful lines." She rolls her eyes and gives me a 'no shit' look.

"I haven't been practicing that long. I was hoping that maybe if we work together we can find her."

She hands me a map and we make our way out of the bar. Laying the map on top of Caroline's hood, Bonnie takes out the items she was using to channel Elena with. I was able to easily pin point her location and immediately took off before any of the others could register.

I ran for about five minutes and came upon an old foreclosed house. I immediately knew it was vampires. I could over hear them talking about curses, the Pertrova doppelganger and Elijah. Fuck. So much for time to prepare.

I walk up to the house and use my magic to open the door for me. Walking straight into the house I begin frowning at the dilapidated structure. My hands tucked into my blue jeans and black heels making no noise as I walked, the ones that took her didn't know I had entered the house yet. Following Elena's heartbeat to the back of the house, I walk into the room, and my eyes immediately went to Elena.

It was clear she had been knocked unconscious by the darkening bruise on her cheek.

"Which one of you hit her?" My voice comes out eerily calm.

"Who the hell are you?!" the girl yells at me. Using my magic, I slam them both into the wall to the right of the couch and hold them there. Making my way down one of the sets of stairs to bring me to their level, I turn a cold look to each of them.

"If anyone is going to be asking questions, it will be me. Now, I will ask again, who hit her?" Neither of them would talk. I just shook my head. "Okay, different question. Why the hell are you working with an Original?"

The male seeing that their best hope would be to try and appease me began talking. If he only knew they were already dead.

"We have been running from the Originals for over five hundred years after we crossed them. The doppelganger was to be our bargaining chip for freedom." I could hear the female growl.

"Shut up Trevor! What the hell are you thinking?" He just shakes his head. "To hell with you Rose. This was your idea and now we have a witch against us." I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"How right you are." I stiffened as I heard a voice I had not heard in over a thousand years behind me.

As he walked into the room, Elena started stirring on the couch. She slowly sits up and looks around confused. Her eyes land on me, "What happened?" I shake my head, "Elena, you need to hide. Now." I say. She looks to Elijah behind me and the vampires against the wall. With a quick nod she runs through a side door and deeper into the house.

"Now, am I mistaken or is that Katerina Petrova?" In what only could be considered a controlled fury; I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out. "Hardly." I say reverting back to my natural English accent.

"Well, perhaps you care to turn around and we can discuss this civilly." I snort and turn to look at him. I can see his eyes go wide in recognition. "Civil?" I question bitterly. "Daniella?" He asks in nothing more than whisper. The whimpering coming from Rose and Trevor pulled my attention from Elijah's shocked face.

Turning to them, I slowly make my way over and come to a stop in front of them. "My apologies Elijah." I say snidely, "I have to take care of a bit of light work."

Extending my hand and pulling them from the wall with my magic, I crush both of my hands into fists and their bodies crush along with it. Unfortunate side effect, I am now covered in vampire blood. Dropping my hands and 'dusting' them off I turn back to Elijah to see he is still staring at me in shock.

"Close your mouth Elijah. You're bound to catch flies." He quickly composes himself and steps down the stairs. I can see him eyeing the corridor that Elena ran through eagerly.

"Don't even think about it." I say menacingly. He turns to me and puts his hands in his pockets. "Forgive me. I'm just having a bit of difficulty understanding why you would be here. Alive. You should of been dead." He says with a tone of wonderment.

"I am dead Elijah." He looks at me in confusion, "You are obviously not a spirit." I blur in front of him stopping a couple feet away. "Obviously." I say without any humor in my voice.

"It's just not possible." He whispers. I can tell he is restraining himself from pulling me to him. He was pathetic to see that he would so easily show his feelings towards me.

"I'm going to ask you a simple question, and I expect you to answer." I say. He cocks an eyebrow, "Alright. And what questions would that be?"

I step back a few feet and start walking around the room, feigning interest in the cracked walls and broken plaster. "Have you ever felt any remorse for the hand you and the rest of your family had in slaughtering my village and murdering my family?" I ask as if it's Tuesday.

"Ella what are you talking about?" I blur to him and shove him into a wall.

"You have no right to call me that!" I snarl out. He slowly gets up dusting the plaster and paint chips of his sleeves. He narrows his eyes, "We didn't kill your family Ella. It was our father."

I growl and blur towards him. This time he is expecting it and tosses me into the opposite wall. Slowly standing and dusting myself off, which while caked in blood, is quite hard to do.

"You lie. Your family was seen returning early that morning. Covered in blood." He rolls his eyes, "Of course we were covered in blood. A few werewolves got too close to the caves we hid in, so we dispatched them."

I let out a humorless laugh, "To think I once considered you one of my best friends." I mutter to myself loud enough that he could here. "I am your best friend. Just as you are mine Ella." I use my magic and send him flying into the next room. Blurring over to him I grab him by the neck and slam him into the ground.

"Stop lying!" I roar into his face. He twists my arm and flips me over him. Quickly rolling to stand he grabs me by the throat and slams me into the floor. He comes within inches of my face, his fangs elongated and his eyes dark. "I am telling you the truth." He grits out between clenched teeth.

Putting my hand up to his head, I delve into his memories. Going over the event of the night my parents died from his eyes.

I saw the Mikaelson children running to the caves with the rest of their village. As they usher the families into the caves they can hear the howls of the wolves coming from the direction of our village. "Wolves." I hear Elijah spat out. "Rebekah, you stay here and keep them away from the caves. Finn, you and Klaus go and make sure there aren't any stragglers in the village." They blur away.

Kol is getting ready to run in the direction of our village, "Kol! What are you doing?" He stops and turns, "I'm going to make sure my Ellie is safe!" Elijah blurs over to him grabs him by the collar, "We protect our own. Their family knows how to protect themselves against the wolves."

Elijah lets go of Kol as three wolves break through the clearing and dive at the two of them. They roll to the side and Kol reaches out tearing into the side of one of the wolves getting sprayed with blood. Elijah leaps onto the back of one and punches through the back of its head. As the third is about to leap at Kol, Finn takes it out midair tearing it in half. As he does, Rebekah comes out of the cave and gets sprayed down her front with blood.

I can see the disgusted look on her face, "This is the most disgusting thing." She said sniffing the blood and yanking her hand away in disgust.

"Where's father?" Kol asks looking around. "I don't see him. I haven't seen him for a couple of hours. Did he not clear the way for the first wave of people?" Finn asks, "He's not in the caves. Mother stated that he had some business to take care of."

"Do you smell that?" Asks Klaus, "I do. Is that, something burning?" Rebekah asks.

Running towards the smell, as they come closer I can see the dawning on their face as they realize that it was my village. There standing in the middle of the slaughter is their father. Mikael.

"What is father doing?" Screams Rebekah. She starts going towards the fire but Finn pulls her back. "Ellie?" I hear Kol whisper. I follow his eyes and he was looking at my father starting to transform.

Then Elijah and Klaus drag Kol away as Finn drags Rebekah.

Yanking my hand from his head, I shove him off me. All these years, all the hate, it was directed at the wrong Mikaelsons. "Why didn't you let them stop him?" I whisper through the tears that are falling.

"We didn't know the effects of fire on us at the time. If I would have known we would have survived, nothing in the world would have stopped us Ella. You have to believe me." He says desperately.

Standing and wiping the tears from my face. "I don't have time for this. I have to get Elena out of here." I say rushing past him. I can hear him following me. "Ella, please talk to me. Don't run away again." I stop mid step and turn to him, "Is that what you think I did? You thought I ran away?"

I scoff in indignation, "You know nothing Elijah. Don't pretend like you do." I say. Continuing my way to where I know Elena is hiding. Opening the door that leads to the basement, I call out for her.

"Elena, it's safe to come out. I hear Damon and Stefan upstairs." She comes out from under the basement stairs and rushes to me. "Thank god you came Dani." She whispers through her tears. Putting my arms around her, "I won't let anything happen to you Elena." I whisper to her.

Knowing full well Elijah can hear me but I couldn't bring myself to care. Putting an arm around her shoulder I lead her upstairs where I know Damon and Stefan are. Coming out into the hallway, Stefan is over to me and pulling Elena in his arms. Not being able to handle any more tears, "Get her home Stefan." I whisper dropping my English accent. He nods and picks her up bridal style.

Blurring out of the house I turn to Damon. He looks me in the eyes and squints a bit as he's studying what he sees. "Baby doll, you alright?" He asks noticing Elijah coming up the stairs. "I'm fine Damon." I turn to see Elijah standing there dusting off his suit.

"Elijah, Damon. Damon, Elijah." Elijah sticks his hand out and Damon hesitantly shakes it. Letting out a huff, I start making my way towards the door.

"Ella..." I hear Elijah say. I stop and turn to him, "Yes, Elijah?" He comes up to me and pulls me into a hug. Tensing at the gesture I can see Damon raise an eyebrow at him and me.

"I'm happy you are alive." He whispers. Pulling back, I shrug my shoulders, "That makes one of us." I whisper. Damon walks up and pulls me into a hug. "None of that baby doll." He pulls back and takes time to look me over, "You also look like shit." He says with a smirk.

Rolling my eyes, "Yeah fuck you too Princess." I say. "Are you gonna be okay with talk, dark and broody?" He says, looking at Elijah who actually looked somewhat amused at our exchange.

"Yeah. I'll be fine Damon. Give me a call and let me know how Elena is doing. She's pretty shaken up." He nods and blurs out of there.

Walking out of the house at a normal pace I hear Elijah shut the door to the house and join me. Snapping my fingers, the house catches on fire. Elijah stops and looks back, "You are quite powerful." He mumbles. "Being over a thousand-year-old witch tends to do that."

As I turn towards the direction of my house he falls into step next to me. "How were you able to keep your powers if you were changed? Who changed you?" I snort, "I changed me. I repeated the spell your mother did. I had to make a deal with nature. I had my wolf cursed, much like Nik, only there isn't any way for me to break it." He nods his head, "So you experience the pain of the change every full moon?" I nod my head.

"Why would you curse yourself to this existence?"

"To avenge my family. When you have nothing but hate fueling you, it's amazing what you can do." I say wistfully. "You sound an awful lot like Kol used to." He whispers. "What? Did he miraculously become saved?' I say jokingly, "He's dead Ella." I stop and turn to him, "What?" I whisper, "What do you mean he's dead?" Elijah looks at me sadly, "Klaus. He daggered all of my siblings and tossed them into an ocean."

How can this be? Why? What did he possibly have to gain from this? "He always swore family was the most important thing to him. Why would he do this?" I shake my head and let out a shaky breath.

Just then my phone rings pulling my thoughts away, "Hello?" I say not looking at the caller id. "Where are you? Why aren't you home yet?" I roll my eyes. "Something came up uncle." I can see Elijah look at me confused. "I'll be home shortly." I say hanging up.

"So you are living in Mystic Falls now?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. I nod my head. "I am. My uncle Phillip, Mathias and myself." He nods his head, "So I take it, whatever you did to make yourself immortal, you did the same for them as well?"

"I did. I had already lost everyone else. My brother wanted to live a mortal life with his wife and son. So it was just the three of us. We've been protecting the remaining werewolves and watching over his bloodline."

Getting a thoughtful look on his face, "Perhaps then it would be in my best interest to stick around as well." I raise an eyebrow, "Do you think Klaus would be stupid enough to come after Elena?"

"Most likely. He still hasn't broken his curse. He needs her to do it. Why is she still human though? She is surrounded by the Salvatore brothers. Surely they would have changed her by now."

"I don't think she wants to be changed. I've already stressed the importance of her safety. Even if Klaus hasn't heard about her yet, which I am sure he has, her blood is a rarity in and of itself."

"Indeed it is. So, perhaps you wouldn't mind putting up an old friend for the night?" I smile at him, "I'm not sure how my uncle and cousin will handle it to be honest. One second." I pull out my phone and call Alice.

"Hey cuz! What can I do ya for?" I smile into the phone, "Hey Ally. I need your help." I can hear the line go silent a few seconds. "Already on it. They'll be gone by the time you get home."

"You're the best Ally." She giggles, "I know. Which is why you are going to let me plan your birthday party. See you in a month!" I hang up and chuckle.

Looking at Elijah's amused face, "Ally is a seer. A cold one in fact." He nods his head and we begin walking again, "Why did she call you cousin? Is she with Mathias?" I let out a loud laugh, "Heavens no. Her adoptive brother married the last of my brother's line. Her mother was descended from my brother's child. We traveled northwest to see if she showed signs of the werewolf gene but she didn't. She was changed by her mate."

He nods his head in understanding. "So you have quite a large family now it would seem." I shake my head, "It's not the same though Elijah. For example, I was to be your sister one day. My being here doesn't make up for your siblings not. For my Kol not." I whisper sadly.

"You still love him? Even after all these years and what you believed my family to have done?' I nod my head solemnly.

"I knew I would never have been able to put Kol down. I've tried so hard to hate him. I've convinced the world I hate him but at the end of the day, I just can't." I say defeated. "Now I'll never be able to tell him." I say letting a few tears fall.

There had to be a way to get them back. They weren't truly dead. Only daggered. Why couldn't I just do a locator spell on them? "Elijah, what if I were to do a locator spell on their coffins? We could then pay divers to retrieve them."

He stopped, "I tried locating them using a witch. They failed." I cock an eyebrow and point to myself, "This is me we are talking about. I'm powerful Elijah. Extremely powerful." I say. "It's worth a try but forgive me if I do not dare to hope." I smile, "Well, I have enough for the both of us."

Blurring away with Elijah following me, I reach the edge of our property just as my uncle and cousin are loading their suitcases. I put a hand up to stop Elijah. After a few minutes they get in their cars and take off.

Walking across the yard, "This is your home?" I nod my head. "It is. As I am sure you know, living this long allows you to obtain a vast amount of wealth."

"Indeed it does. I must say, my siblings would be most impressed by this house." I smile at him, "I'm happy to hear that. If we find them, it will be their home as well."

"That is very generous of you Ella. I'm happy to see that there is still part of you in there." I shrug, "I see my old friend in you as well Elijah. Come on. I need a shower." I say blurring up to the house and inviting him in.

Stepping into the foyer he looks around. The large foyer leads to an open area with two staircases leading up on either side of the room to the second floor. The marble floor reflecting the light brightly. To the left of the foyer was the large living room with crème color couches surrounding a dark oak coffee table. To the right was the formal dining room and off that room you could see the large double doors leading into the kitchen.

"Feel free to look around. I am going to shower and change. When I come back downstairs, I'll try and do the spell." Walking up the stairs and going to the left at the top of the stairs I make my way down to the end of the hall. Passing several doors on my left and right I open the doors at the end of the hall that leads into my bedroom.

Opening the double doors, I make my way towards my dresser. Pulling out a dark green bra and matching boy shorts. I make my way into the bathroom. Quickly stripping I hop into the shower and scrub myself for a good twenty minutes to get the blood cleaned off.

After that is done, I step out of the shower quickly drying with a black towel. Putting on my bra and underwear, I make my way into my room wrapping the towel around my hair. Opening my closet, I pull out a black maxi skirt with a slit on either side to the knee. Putting that on and then a white tank top I take the towel down and shake out my hair. Scowling at the curls, I pick up my ruined clothes and make my way down stairs.

Walking into the living room I can hear Elijah in the library. Continuing into the library, I flick my hand and start a fire in the fireplace. Tossing my clothes into the fire I turn to Elijah.

"Damn shame. That jacket looked amazing on you." I smile, "I have a few more like it upstairs and in different colors." He smiles, "So, are you ready?" I nod my head. Walking over to a wide drawer that is on one of the book cases, I pull out a rolled up map and a few candles. Making my way to the coffee table, I take a seat on the small red couch. Unrolling the map, I grab two candlesticks and place them on their side of the map to keep it flat. Placing a candle in each, I snap my fingers to light them.

Taking off my necklace with my engagement ring on it I begin hovering it over the map. Closing my eyes, I begin chanting to myself "You still have that?" Not wanting to answer I shush him and continue chanting. After a few minutes it drops from my hand and onto the map.

Opening my eyes, I look down, "That's not possible." Mutters Elijah. "What do you mean? It's pointing to the US. I thought you said they were dropped into the Ocean?" He nods his head, "That's what Klaus said." I scoff, "Well obviously he lied."

I see Elijah look at me sternly, "Or maybe you aren't as good as you say you are." I snort, "Really? Let's see shall we?" standing I go back to the same bookshelf and open the drawer below the one I opened previously. Pulling a map out of the US I make my way back to the table. Clearing the old map off the table and handing it to Elijah, "Here, make yourself useful." I hear him chuckle and begin rolling up the map.

Unrolling the next map, I repeat the process and this time the ring lands on Chicago. Turning to Elijah and cocking an eyebrow. "You were saying Mr. Mikaelson?"

He cowls at the map, "It appears my brother lied to me. Well, I guess I will be fetching my family. Care to join me Ella?" I let out a sigh and shake my head.

"No."

I stand leaving the ring on the table. Walking over to look into the fire, "I can't Elijah." I whisper. "Why not?" Not turning to look at him, "I'm not ready. I've gone from thinking Kol killed my family, to knowing he didn't, to thinking he was lost forever, to finding out he is in Chicago somewhere. I'm not prepared for this."

He walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder turning me around and pulling me into a hug. "I understand. Come with me to Chicago and help me get them back. When we have them in a safe location, I will undagger them and then you can leave. They will never know you are still alive till you are ready."

I let out a sigh, "Only because I know any other witch wouldn't be able to do it. He could have the coffins spelled for all we know."

I remove myself from his arms and begin making my way to the door. "Where are you going?" I stop and furrow my brows, "To pack a bag. We have to make this quick. I have school on Monday." I say smiling.

Blurring up to my room I pull out a duffle bag. Changing into a pair of jeans from my skirt, I pull on a brown leather jacket and matching lace up boots with no heel. Going into my closet I pull out a couple of outfits and grab a couple pairs of shoes and shove them into the duffle bag.

Grabbing my shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hairbrush I shove them into the bag as well. Going to my black oak dresser, I lift up a drawer and pull out twenty grand in cash. Shoving that to the bottom, I zip it up and make my way out of the door grabbing my phone on the way.

Making way back downstairs I see Elijah isn't in the house. Waiting a few minutes, he comes back in with his own duffle bag. I cock an eyebrow, "Your suits are going to get wrinkled."

"I'll manage." I shrug my shoulders and make my way towards the door, "We running or we flying?" He stops and thinks about it, "Running will be faster. It's only about four hours away."

I open the door and wait for him to walk out. Pulling out my phone and sending a text to Damon that I will be out of town but back by Monday morning, I slide it back into my back pocket. Elijah takes off and I blur after him. The trip was quiet as we were lost in our own thoughts. By the time we reached Chicago it was around four in the morning.

"I'm tired Elijah. Let's find a suite large enough that you can keep your family in as they get acclimated."

As we make our way through Chicago we come across the Waldorf first. We both stop and nod our heads in agreement. Making our way in and to the front desk. I see a man in a suit standing to greet us.

"Hello Sir and Madam. Welcome to Waldorf. Will you be checking in?" I catch his eyes and begin to compel him, "You will give us your largest suite until we direct you otherwise. You will also not book any rooms out on the same floor. All of this will be comp."

Typing into his computer he reaches behind him and pulls out two keys. "Here you go mam. Please enjoy your stay with us." I nod my head and make my way over to the elevator with Elijah following behind me.

As the doors close I put the keycard into the slot and hit PS for Presidential Suite. Removing the key, the elevator begins making its way up. "We will catch a few hours of sleep and then I will do a tracking spell to find them. Hopefully, no Klaus sized surprises when we do find them."

"I agree. If we confront him as a united family, perhaps we can convince my brother to give up on breaking his curse. If not, then he will have all of us between him and Elena."

As the doors open we step into the suite. Looking around there is a large sitting area with a fully stocked bar to the right wall. A fireplace across from that. There is a dark brown oak dining table with eight chairs. The floors are black marble with various carpets laid out.

"There's four bedrooms. I'll take the one to the left. See you in a few hours Elijah." I make my way into the room and it's fairly plain for such a luxurious suite.

Not even bothering to take off my shoes, I collapse onto the bed and immediately fall asleep. After what seems like no time at all, I hear a knock on my door, "Ella. It's nine o'clock. I figured you would want some breakfast."

"I'll be out in twenty." I mumble into my pillow. I hear him chuckle and then walk away. Dragging myself up and stretching I open my bag and get out a pair of ripped black jeans, a dark blue blouse and my black open toe pumps. Setting them out, I take out my bath stuff and quickly shower in the connected suite. Quickly showering and dressing, I run a brush through my hair and step out of my room.

Elijah is setting the table with our food. Sitting down I start eating my eggs and bacon. As Elijah begins eating the reality of what's happening is finally starting to set in. After we eat he clears the table and brings over a map of the city along with the candles and Kol's ring.

I set everything up quickly and hold out my hand for the ring. "Why do you still have this?" He asks, "Why do you think?" I ask sarcastically. Taking it from him I begin muttering the spell. The ring lands on a group of warehouses along the pier.

"Well, we have at least narrowed it down to a few blocks. It's the weekend so they should be fairly empty." He says.

Standing I put the ring around my neck and blow out the candles. As we make our ways to the door I see Elijah put one of the keys in his wallet. He also pulls out a bag and hands it to me. Giving him a confused look, I open it and find a replacement leather jacket in black. Smiling I take it out and slide it on.

"Much better." He says with a wink. I roll my eyes and make my way into the elevator. After reaching the ground floor we make our way outside and hail a taxi. Stopping by a few stores and picking them up some changes of clothes we make our way to the area.

Getting out with our bags we begin looking for the correct building. As we move deeper into the warehouse district I can feel a tug on my chest. "This way." I say letting the pull lead me. As we round a corner we can make out a couple of vampires standing guard outside one of the warehouses.

Nodding our heads to each other I start making my way down the street looking at my phone and then up at the buildings around me. As I get closer to them I start mumbling about GPS, "Stupid GPS piece of shit. There's no way in hell this right." I say with a huff and a stomp of my foot.

"Can we help you miss?" One of the vampires says. I smile my best at them and cautiously approach them. "Yeah actually. I got an address for a reunion but I think I must of took it down wrong." He smiles and I can see the predatory look take over. "Why don't you come inside and we can discuss it."

I let out a sigh of relief, "That would be so awesome." I say and step in with them behind me. I can immediately see the coffins in the middle of the floor. "Is it just you guys in here?" I ask innocently.

"Of course. But there's plenty of you to go around." I drop the bags and slide my phone into my pocket. Spinning around, "Perfect." I say menacingly. Snapping one of their necks and latching onto the other I begin draining him dry. After I'm done I toss his body to the side. Dragging them both to the casket while whistling I drop them next to two of the coffins.

A few seconds later Elijah steps in. "That wasn't part of the plan Ella." He says with amusement in his voice. Turning around and wiping the blood from my chin. I can see him frown, "I just bought you that coat." He says with a huff of fake irritation.

"Well I was hungry." I say with a fake pout. He shakes his head with a chuckle and walks over to the coffins. "Why are there four?" He asks to himself. I shrug my shoulders even though I knew the question was rhetoric. "Well, given the size of these two, I would say that's Rebekah and Finn. One of the others must be Kol."

Opening the first coffin and sighing in relief there wasn't any magic binding them, I see Rebekah in a flapper era gold and white dress. "Damn. Over ninety years?" I chuckle, "Klaus is a real prick." I mutter.

Moving to the next I see my Kol. Noticing his clothes, they are even older than Rebekah's. Feeling my breath hitch at his appearance, I have to fight the tears welling up in my eyes. Moving to the next one I find Finn. I knew he had been daggered for over nine hundred years.

As I approach the last one and reach out I can feel a flash go through my head of Esther staking Finn. Reaching back, "Don't open this coffin Elijah." I say. Picking the coffin up I blur out of the warehouse that is luckily on the water. I toss it into the water and watch it sink.

Moving back into the room I see him removing the dagger from Finn and the other three are already laying on the ground next to the coffin.

"Who was in the coffin?" I shake my head, "It's best you don't know." Walking over to the coffins I can already see the veins slowly receding. "You best go fetch them something to drink Elijah. I'll watch them." I whisper.

He nods his head and blurs out of the room. Not being able to take my eyes off Kol I take a seat next to his coffin. "I wonder if you can hear me." I whisper. I chuckle, "Probably not. I'm sorry Kol. I should have trusted you. I should have believed in you. But I didn't."

With a sigh I look at the others and shake my head. "I won't let him dagger you ever again Kol. I promise." Standing I grab one of the bags and move the clothes out of it. Grabbing each of the daggers and putting them in the bag, I blur out of the room and leave them just outside the same door that I took Esther's coffin through.

Blurring back into the room I take my position up against the wall right next to the door and wait for Elijah. Ten minutes later he comes back in carrying two bodies. He drops them and walks back out, bringing another two. He stands back just staring at me. He could tell that I was going to take off any second.

"Ella, please tell me this isn't goodbye." I smile and shake my head, "I doubt it. One more thing," I take off my necklace and throw it across the room to Elijah. "Make sure he gets that." I say nodding my head towards Kol's coffin.

Just then two loud breaths can be heard and both Rebekah and Kol sit up coughing. "That's my queue." I whisper.

Blurring out of the room and grabbing the bag, I make my way straight back home. Reaching it six hours later I rush up to my room. Making my way over to my closet, I walk into it. Reaching the back wall, I pull down on one of the shelves holding my shoes. The wall opens and I walk further in. Using an eye scanner, I make my way through the last door.

Looking at the table in the middle of the room. Five white oak stakes are laying on the table. Reaching into the bag and taking out the daggers, I lay them next to the stakes. Letting out a heavy sigh. Spelling the table so it goes invisible, I make my way out of both doors and close them behind me. Closing my closet doors, I pull down a crème sundress. Grabbing a pair of gold sandals, I make my way and quickly shower. Cursing myself for leaving my bag and clothes at the hotel. Hopefully Elijah takes care of it.

Quickly showering and getting dressed I pull my phone out of my pants that are on the floor. Opening it I call Damon. "Hey baby doll. How was your trip?" I smile, "Successful. Although we are going to probably have a rather pissed off Original on our hands here soon."

"Shit Ellie, what did you do now?" I chuckle, "Took something from Klaus. He's not very nice when he gets his things taken away." I hear him let out a strained chuckle.

"This is exactly what we didn't want Ella." I growl, "He's already in town or at least he's heading this way. So I only sped things up a bit. We have three weeks till the full moon. I'm pretty sure we can put him down in that time."

"Yeah yeah. So, Elena has been worried about you. Seems she wasn't expecting to see...well the mess you made." I sigh, "I'll call her and straighten everything out before school tomorrow."

"Good. Tyler Lockwood was just here with an invitation for some masquerade ball that his mother is holding this Saturday. Care to be my plus one?"

I smile, "Absolutely. You know how I love these types of things. I'm sure we can find some type of trouble to cause." He chuckles darkly, "If you weren't my best friend I'd be tempted to ask you to marry me."

I laughed, "Well, if you weren't you, I would be tempted to say yes. Later." I say hanging up. Chuckling as I make my way downstairs, I see a note on the table in the foyer. Elijah's number is listed on it.

Dialing it, I hold my breath, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. Miss me already?" He says with a chuckle. "Hardly. I screwed up." I can hear the smile in his face, "You mean taking the daggers?"

I scoff, "Hardly. I was doing you all a favor. No, I left my bag in my room." I could hear him drop the phone and a door slam open. "Why does my room smell like my Ellie Elijah?!" I hear Kol yell. "Shit." I whisper into the phone. I can hear struggling and then a voice I hadn't heard in years, "Ellie? Darling, is that you?" I hang up the phone and throw it against the wall. "FUCK!" I yell.


	4. Chapter 4

Grabbing my car keys and wallet I make my way outside and drive over to Damon's house. Walking in not bothering to knock, "Please. Do come in." I hear Stefan say dryly. I just flip him off and walk to the liquor cabinet.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." I keep muttering to myself. "Hey baby doll." Damon says confused, "What ya doin?" he says slowly approaching me. Growling at him, "I fucked up Damon. Now things are going to go tits up." I say in frustration downing my drink.

"I thought the Klaus thing is handled?" I scoff, "Of course it is. That's not what I'm talking about." He gets a confused look and looks to Stefan who just shrugs looking bored. "Care to elaborate Dani?" Stefan asks.

"I just spoke to my fiancé who I haven't spoken in over a thousand years. He knows I'm alive now and he is going to rip this town apart trying to find me if Elijah tells him where I am."

I could see both of them furrow their brows. "How is your fiancé still alive?" I let out a huff, "Because I was supposed to marry Kol Mikaelson." I can see the shock on both their faces. "So Elijah was that Elijah?" I nod my head.

"Holy hell Dani...you really get yourself into some shit." I scowl at Stefan, "Thanks for the heads up dad!" I say sarcastically. "Okay, let's just back up a second. So, your fiancé is Kol Mikaelson who is part of the Original family. You just helped reunite Elijah with his family and now Kol knows you are alive and so they are going to come here?" Damon asks trying to clarify, I nod my head.

"The same family that killed your family." I shake my head.

"Nope. Turns out it was just their bastard father who was behind it. They were innocent." I whisper slamming another drink back.

"Luckily for us, they aren't on speaking terms with Klaus on the account of having them daggered. So, more protection for Elena." I say with false excitement.

"Well that is good news. Guess something good has come from this mess." Damon mutters to himself.

"Hey, that mess you are talking about? Yeah, happens to be my life asshole."

"Why are things never simple with you around?" Asks Stefan dejectedly into his hands.

"Hey. I prefer to think of it as exciting." He drops his hands and give me a look of disbelief.

"Belfast in 1979." I chuckle, "That was fun. Who knew explosives could do so much damage?" He lets out a moan of frustration, "You took out an 8th century castle."

"Wasn't the worst thing I did." I say slamming back another glass of liquor.

"So what do we do now? Shouldn't we be looking for Klaus?"

I shake my head, "He'll find you first. Especially if he sees you hanging around Elena. He can't know I'm here so I will be withdrawing from school for a while. I also won't be able to see Elena till we deal with him. In the mean time I am going to buy a new phone and start looking for a way to save Elena in case he does get his hands on her. Better safe than dead." With that I blur out of the house and take off in my car to Richmond.

Walking into the mall, I make my way to the closest cell phone vendor. Buying a replacement phone and changing my number just in case Kol got ahold of Elijah's phone. I take my purchases and start walking around.

A few minutes into my walk I see Ally's number pop up. "Hey cuz." I say answering, "Hey. Go straight and then hang a left. Two stores down on the right. If you don't buy that dress for the ball on Saturday, I will murder you personally." I hear her say giggling.

Quickly making my way over I stop when I see it. "If I didn't buy that dress, I'd let you murder me. Thanks cuz." I say hanging up. Walking inside I walk up to the mannequin and take a look at the back of the dress.

"Are you interested in this piece?" I hear from behind me. Turning I see a sales lady that is in her fifties with a tight French twist and an immaculate dress suit. "I am actually." She smiles at me, "Wonderful. You do realize that is a one of a kind Alexander McQueen."

I nod my head, "Of course. Wouldn't be the first time one of his pieces has graced my eyes." I say smartly. "Well, let's try it on then, shall we?" I nod my head. As she takes it down I make my way into the dressing room. She helps me into the dress. "It seems it was made for you my dear." I smile, "Of course it does." I wasn't usually this full of myself with my looks but this dress made me feel empowered.

I quickly remove the dress and re-dress. Making my way to the register, I pull out my black AmEx. She cocks an eyebrow at the card and runs it.

"Shall I have this delivered?" I nod my head. "Please have it delivered to Carol Lockwood's home in Mystic Falls." She nods her head. "She is a frequent customer of ours. We have her address on file." As I make my way out of the store, I get an alert to my phone. Looking down at it, it was a text from Alice.

'You won't find shoes there. I'm sending you some 3' Leave it to Alice to make sure everything was perfect. Whispering my thanks to her knowing she will see it, I make my way to the hair and make-up salon. Making appointments for Saturday, I leave the mall and make my way home. As I pull up to the house, I see Tyler Lockwood standing outside getting ready to knock on the door.

Getting out of the car, I make my way up to him. "Hey Tyler, what brings you here?" I say smiling at him.

"I came to drop this off to you." He says handing me an envelope. I take it from him and open it. "I was hoping to get one of these. Especially since I just dropped fifty grand on a dress."

"If you aren't going with anyone, would you want to be my plus one?" I smile at him and receive a text. Holding up my finger

'Change of plans. I have to take Barbie as my plus one since Tyler flaked on her.'

Well isn't that just freakin' convenient.

I look up at him, "I'd love to Tyler. I will just have my dress delivered to your home and get ready there if that is alright with you?" He nods his head and smiles, "Absolutely beautiful." Walking away he gets in his truck and leaves. Walking inside I go into my study and flop down at my desk letting out a heavy sigh.

As I start to let my mind wander my phone rings. Picking it up, I don't recognize the number and answer. "Hello?" I hear a growl, "I heard you took something of mine." I chuckle, "Hello to you too Klaus. What can I do for you?" I hear him take a deep breath trying to calm himself, "You could start by telling me who you are." I chuckle, "Sorry Klaus. That's not how this works. Although, mind telling me how you got this number when I've only had it for a couple of hours?" At his lack of response, I sigh, "Fine. I was only helping a very old friend get his family back. Don't worry, they will be joining you in Mystic Falls quite soon."

"Is that so? Well, I guess in the mean time I will just have to find my doppelganger and break my pesky curse." I let out my own growl, "You won't get anywhere near her Klaus." I hear him chuckle, "Is that so?" With that he hangs up.

Calling Damon immediately, "Hello?" He says warily into the phone, "Klaus is in town." I rush out. "He got my number somehow but he doesn't know it's me. Where's Elena?"

"She's with me and Stefan at the house." I sigh, "Bring her here. Convince Jenna to let her stay with me. I can ward the house so they need invitations to come in and keep her protected till the rest of the Mikaelsons get here."

"Okay. We'll be over in an hour." With that he hangs up. I pull out Elijah's number and text him,

'Klaus just contacted me. He doesn't realize it's me.'

A few minutes later he responds,

'Can I call? It's safe to talk'

Not waiting for him to call, I call him. "So how is my brother?" He says answering. "You know. The usual. Grr, give me back what's mine, grr" He lets out a chuckle, "Well, I have good news and bad news. Good news, Kol isn't sure if it was you but he does suspect something." I roll my eyes, "And that's the good news? What's the bad news?"

"Bad news, we are at a gas station refueling. We are on our way there." I let out a groan of frustration, "That's not what I want to hear Elijah. Can you keep them distracted long enough, till at least Friday? There's a ball at the Lockwood's on Saturday. We can have our grand reunion then."

I hear him chuckle, "Of course. I can show Rebekah Mall of America." I giggle, "I'm sure they will all love it. Elena will be staying with me for the week. That's the easiest way to keep my existence up in the air to Klaus and keep her away from him. Call me when you are in town on Friday."

With that I hang up. Making my way upstairs, I open one of the guest rooms and start putting bedding on it and preparing it for Elena. A half hour later I hear the doorbell ring. Going downstairs I open it to find Elena, Damon and Stefan. I pull Elena into a hug, "Hey you." I whisper. "Hey." I pull back and invite the boys in. "I prepared a guest room for you upstairs. On Saturday you and Stefan will be joining me at the Lockwood's to dress for the party."

I say it in a way that obviously leaves no room for argument. "I'll convince Carol." I shake my head, "No need. I am Tyler's plus one since someone ditched me." I say raising an eyebrow at Damon.

"At least it's not New York all over again." I roll my eyes, "Yeah. We'll see how Saturday goes down."

I can tell Stefan and Elena are confused. I wave my hand, "For another time. So, who's hungry?" I say. Walking into the kitchen I start pulling things out for Spaghetti.

After everything is out I turn to Damon, "Okay. Hop to handsome." I say with a pat on his shoulder. Pulling out a bottle of wine I pour us each a glass. "Yummy." Elena says as she takes a drink. Smiling at her I take my own sip.

"So Dani, Damon and Stefan gave me the run down. Why are you so hesitant to see Kol again?" I let out a heavy sigh. "There are several reasons. The main one being, I disappeared and ran the day we were to get married." I say taking another sip of my wine.

"Never pegged you for the runaway bride, but I can see how that would make someone hesitant." she says with a nod. "But Dani, you can't hide from him forever."

I chuckle, "I've done it pretty well over the last thousand years." She gives me a look that obviously meant she didn't buy it.

"I get it. I know I am going to have to see him. That's why I am securing invites to the party on Saturday. That way, when he does see me again, it will be in a room full of people and we can avoid a blowout." I say tapping the side of my head thoughtfully.

"So, what do we do about Klaus?" I let out a heavy breath, "Stop him from killing you." I say honestly.

"I actually have been thinking about something. Hear me out before you freak." She nods her head hesitantly. Even Damon stopped cutting vegetables to listen.

"What if I said that I could make sure you came back, completely human, if he were to complete the ritual?" She takes a long drink of wine and scrunches up her face, "Would it get him to leave me alone?"

Shrugging at her answer, "I can do my best to make sure that he does. If he doesn't, I'll desiccate him and drop him into a hole so deep no one will ever find him."

She lets out a heavy breath, "Okay. We will approach him with the deal and if he doesn't take it, we put him down." I nod my head. "Exactly." I can see Stefan is skeptical, "Are you sure you can pull this off?" I nod my head.

"I have leverage." He cocks an eyebrow, "I have the only thing that can permanently kill an Original. But don't even think about trying it. They used to be my family, I want them back as my family. If you play nice with them, they will play nice with you."

They all nod their heads thoughtfully. "Wait, if I'm stuck in the house, how am I supposed to get a dress?" Elena asks.

I laugh, "Great topic change. But also, a very valid question." Just then my phone goes off, "Hello?" I hear a chuckle, "Smash another phone?" I smile, "You know my temper Rose. The smallest things always seem to set it off. What can I do for you?" She snorts, "Temper is putting it mildly. Alice just took out of here like a bat out of hell complaining that she has to do everything. I tried asking her what's up and she said call you and gave me your new number."

I laugh, "I know what's wrong. A friend needs a dress and we both need shoes so she must be taking care of that." I hear a booming laugh in the background and Emmett teasing Jasper about some game they were playing.

"Give your hunk of husband a kiss for me Rose. I'll talk to you later." She giggles, "Will do babe. Stay safe. Let me know if you need back up." With that the line goes dead. I smile at the phone and couldn't help to think how much I missed my extended family. Looking up, I can see a look of confusion on all three of their faces.

"Alice is a seer. She saw Elena's predicament and is taking care of it." I could see a sense of fear that every teenage girl gets when someone else is picking out their outfit.

"Trust me, you will love whatever she picks out. She's already seen it." Elena nods not quite following but shrugs her shoulders and pours herself another glass of wine. Just then Damon plates the food.

"Dinner is served." I clap excitedly, "Yum!" I quickly grab forks and everyone starts eating. The second I take a bite I couldn't stop the moan that escaped my lips.

"This is so good Damon. I change my mind, if you weren't my best friend, I would totally marry you just for this." I could see Elena choke on a noodle and Stefan pats her back to help it go down.

Once she catches her breath she gets a confused look on her face, "Did you two...you know...sleep together?" I giggled at the snort that left Damon's mouth.

"Sure did. For about, what? Thirty years?" I nod my head, "Yep. Worst three decades of my life." I say. He takes my plate away from me, "No food for you." He says standing up.

I jump up, and try to get my plate from him. But, after a minute of trying I shrug my shoulders and sit in his spot and start eating from his plate.

I could see Stefan and Elena were surprised at his playfulness. They follow him with their eyes and Damon takes my spot and starts eating from my plate.

After a few minutes he gets tired of their staring, "What?" He says chewing a bite of food. Elena shakes her head, "Nothing. I've just never seen you so, relaxed and open before." I smile at Damon and ruffle his hair, "He's her Lexi." Stefan explains and Elena nods her head in understanding.

Quickly finishing our food and cleaning up, we make our way into the library and all sit down with our wine. "So, what are we going to do about Katherine?" Stefan asks. Damon and I both let out identical groans, "Always the buzz kill." Damon says.

"He does bring up a good point." I nod my head at Elena's observation.

"If you boys can trap her; I can hold her downstairs in the basement. I have reinforced steel cells that I built for my wolves. I can spell her into a coma essentially if we can get her down with vervain."

"We'll start working on it tomorrow."

"Just don't tell her Klaus is in town. If she gets wind he is, she'll run."

"Why?" Elena asks.

"She was originally supposed to the be the sacrifice to break Klaus' curse. Long story short, she tricked two vampires into turning her. The two who grabbed you as matter of fact." She nods in understanding, "They took me as a bargaining chip for their freedom because when Katherine became a vampire, she was useless."

I loved that Elena was so smart. She always caught onto things without much explanation. "Hey Dani, quick question. In the house when you told me to come up the stairs, you had an accent. Why?"

I smile, "My family was originally from Italy but I spent over five hundred years in England before returning to the New World. We came to the New World before it was the New World and settled. The leaders of the Cold Ones were blindly slaughtering humans at the time. This was the only safe place that they couldn't reach."

"Have you been back to Italy?" I chuckle, "Oh yeah. Needless to say, Caius was not happy. He has a personal vendetta against werewolves. Long story short, the Cold One leaders aren't too happy with me after some crap I helped Bella and her family with." I say smiling into my wine glass.

"Leave it to you to piss off the Volturi. You know they don't let that shit slide."

"Of course they don't Damon. They'll come knocking one day and I will send them with their tails tucked between their legs once again."

That's how the four of us spent every night. Eating dinner together, drinking wine and telling stories. Mainly Elena listened and laughed at our antics and the things we managed to get ourselves into. I could tell part of her wished she had those types of memories but she took it all in stride. I could tell as the week went on, she may actually be considering becoming a vampire. If not for any other reason but to have a chance to see the kinds of things we have seen and experience what the whole world has to offer.

Soon Friday was rolling around and I was nervously pacing in my library waiting for my phone to ring. Elena was taking a nap and the Salvatore brothers were downstairs harassing Katherine. So translation, I was left alone to my thoughts and they were never a good thing for me to be left alone with.

After what seemed like ages my phone rings and I couldn't help the sigh of relief at seeing Elijah's name on my caller id.

"Hello Elijah." I say at an even tone. "Hello Ella. So, we are in town and settled. We've already had one run in with Klaus." I snort, "What I wouldn't of given to been a fly on the wall during that happy reunion."

"Yes, it was most…liberating for our siblings. But on the brighter side of things, Klaus is going to agree to your deal. It was a very hands on discussion." I couldn't help the smug feeling that came from his words. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want any serious harm to come to Klaus but he did need some type of payback for daggering his siblings for so long.

I had texted Elijah earlier in the week with my idea on the ritual and he said he would make sure his brother agreed. No white oak stakes needed. "Fabulous." I say making my way up to my room.

"How are they settling?" I hear a heavy sigh, "Kol has been watching me like a hawk. He's convinced I'm hiding something from him. Rebekah has been shopping and moping. You being brought up didn't have the best reaction. She did take your leaving almost as hard as Kol and Finn has left searching for Sage."

I smile, "I hope they reconcile. I wish I would have known; I happen to be good friends with one of her protégé. So, where are you staying?" He sighs, "With our brother. We aren't the happiest but we are enjoying tormenting him."

I chuckle, "As pissed at Klaus as I am for keeping Kol daggered, I'm sure he did it because of Mikael. The spirits told me he's been hunting you all for the past thousand years and if we want to brutally honest, your youngest siblings aren't exactly the most discreet." He chuckles, "Don't I know. Kol wasted no time reverting back to his old ways."

I couldn't help but feel sad at Elijah's claim. "So booze, blood and bitches?" I say trying to hide the hurt but I suspect some may have slipped through. I mean, Elijah and I were best friends for a very long time. He would be sure to pick up on it.

"So, Carol Lockwood has already extended invites. We will all be there tomorrow. Are you ready for this?" I sigh, "No. But what choice is there? I can't keep running. I have too much at stake."

"So, I take it you have a plus one already?" I chuckle, "I'm far too beautiful not too Elijah. I am being escorted by Tyler Lockwood. I will actually be getting ready at the Lockwood house. Well, after Elena and I run into Richmond to get our hair done."

He sighs, "Well, at least you and Rebekah will have something to bond over."

"Goodbye Elijah. I will see you tomorrow." With that I hang up the phone. Looking at the clock it's close to dinner time and feeling super lazy, I decide to order a couple of pizzas.

As the doorbell rings Elena comes downstairs yawning and still tired. Paying for the pizza, I make my way into the kitchen Setting everything down, I grab enough plates and glasses. "How was your nap?" I ask as she tiredly makes her way into the kitchen and flops down on her stool. "Like I could sleep for weeks and not wake up. I haven't been sleeping well given everything going on and it's starting to catch up with me.

I could understand where she was coming from. Sleep had eluded me most nights because my mind wouldn't stop running away with me. Thinking about all the possible outcomes and what my reunion with Kol will be like.

I knew no matter what I did, I would have to face him. At least this way, it would be on my own terms for the most part and I could actually control the situation. I didn't want to feel powerless. I didn't want to feel backed into a corner when the time came to finally see him again.

"Well, tonight, you need to try your hardest to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow may be a pretty long night depending on how everything goes down."

As I handed Elena her plate, she started piling it with pizza. As I took a bit from my own slice, I hear my front door open and close. Stefan and Damon come stomping into the room and don't even bother with plates.

"Please, don't worry about knocking and make yourselves at home." I say sarcastically with a mouth full of pizza.

"So, what time do you guys head to Richmond tomorrow?" Damon asks between bites.

"Noon. That will give us enough time for our hair and makeup. Leaving plenty to spare for making it to the Lockwood's before anyone shows up." Elena started fidgeting in her chair and had a nervous look on her face.

"Your dress and our shoes along with my dress are already there. I spoke with Carol this morning." She lets out a noticeable sigh of relief, "Thank god. I can't believe I had totally spaced."

"Well we have been pretty busy. Me showing you magic, drinking...me showing you drunk magic." She laughs. "I about lost it when you turned that bird into a bunny that cawed."

It felt good knowing that I was building memories with Elena. Memories that would stay with us for the rest of our lives. She had so much to offer the world and I know she would be a fabulous immortal.

After dinner and goodbyes, Elena and I went up to bed with half-hearted goonights. Changing into my pjs and throwing myself into bed, I quickly found sleep was hard to come by.

My thoughts were on how tomorrow night would play out and what everyone's reaction would be to seeing me again. It was well after midnight before I could finally fall asleep. However, if I knew what my wake-up call was going to be like, I might have stayed awake.

Because let me tell you. Being woken up at nine in the morning by Damon, was not my idea of a good time. "Come on sleepy head. Time to get up." Damon says smacking my ass really hard.

"OW! Fuck Damon. You are the worst alarm clock. I'm returning you for a full refund... as soon as I get a few more hours of sleep." I say mumbling into my pillow.

"Not a chance baby doll. But you might like to know that there is a certain Original that is downstairs destroying your kitchen." Knowing only Elijah knew where I lived, I let out a huff and made my way out of my room and down the stairs. Hearing voices coming from the kitchen, I walk in to Elijah. In an apron? Cooking pancakes?

"Umm...what are you doing here?" I say utterly confused.

"Making you breakfast. You, have a big day ahead of you. Need your strength." He says with a smirk on his face. "Yeah, yeah. Do they have any idea?" I say taking a bite out of my pancakes that Elijah handed me.

"They do not. They have been so busy getting ready for the ball and exploring town, they haven't had much time to dwell on your phone call. Although, I believe Kol still suspects something." I nod my head and pray to a god that I wasn't sure even existed anymore that everything will go alright tonight.

"Are you sure you don't want to meet them again in a more private setting?" Elijah asks in all seriousness.

"No. It's like I said to Damon, Elena and Stefan. There is less likely to be a scene with people around. I know your family prides themselves in having respected reputations. Regardless how big of a shock seeing me is going to be for them, they won't make a big deal out in the open."

"I cannot argue with you about that. Still, I had hoped for a more romantic reuniting."

I shake my head, "You are a romantic at heart Elijah. That is one thing that obviously hasn't changed about you and it couldn't make me happier. However, there is something you need to understand. There is no guarantee that your brother and I will rekindle a dead flame that went out centuries ago. We are different people and with how different I am; I don't want your brother pursuing me under the impression I'm still that love sick girl."

Elena had kept quiet through our entire exchange but I could see the curiosity in her eyes. She was just as curious as everyone else who knew about Kol and I, on how it would all play out. I figured it will be like a car wreck. You couldn't help but watch, no matter how awful it may be.

Quickly finishing my food, I look at the clock and notice it's almost eleven. "Come on Elena. Let's get ready and hit the road." She looks at the clock and hops up and dashes out of the kitchen.

"I like her." Elijah says. Turning to him I wait for him to continue, "She is nothing like Katerina. She's a breath of fresh air honestly." I smile, "The girl didn't even utter a word but she's also spoken for Elijah. Even if I do think you would be the better man for her." I say whispering the last bit.

He nods his head in understanding. "I'm going to tidy this up and I will see you tonight." I make my way into my room and decided Not to bother with my hair since it was going to get filled with a bunch of product anyway. I pull on a pair of shorts and a button up shirt with short sleeves. Putting on sandals, I make my way out of my room grabbing my purse and keys on the way out.

I see Elena already at the bottom of the stairs dressed similar to me. Only instead of blue jean shorts she is wearing tan and instead of a pink top she is wearing a green one. "Alright. Let's go get beautiful."

The ride to the city was filled with tons of questions from Elena about the Original family and what they were like as human. I answered her questions to the best of my ability but I also warned her that time changes people. Living as long as we have, you don't go through life without some really horrible things happening. She seemed to get disheartened by that. To make up for it, I also clued her into the fact that a lot of amazing things happen as well. That seemed to instill her sense of excitement much to my relief.

Once we get there, we have a quick snack and make our way to the salon. "Hello, two appointments. Elena and Daniella." The pretty girl behind the counter checks her sheet, "Okay. Let's head on back."

Sitting down, one girl begins working on our makeup while the other does our hair. A third comes out and begins doing our nails. I kept my nails simple with a black coat. Elena had her own done purple. My hair was curled and pulled back on the sides and pinned up. Elena had her hair done in an intricate twist and pinned just behind her ear. Her eyeshadow was silver with a thick line of eyeliner and fake lashes.

My eyeshadow was brown and tan with a smoky grey eyeliner. No false lashes need for me. My lip was painted red and Elena's was kept nude. Paying the ladies, we make our way back to the car. Making sure the windows were rolled up, I speed back to Mystic Falls noticing that we are half an hour behind.

Pulling up to the front, I park my car and toss my keys to the valet. As we reach the door Carol Lockwood opens it, "Hello girls. Your things are upstairs in the last bedroom on the left."

"Thanks Ms. Lockwood." We say together. Running up the stairs we dash into the room. "That was close." Elena says with a hand over her heart. Walking over to the garment bags, I hand Elena hers and she steps into the bathroom to change. I pull mine out and slip it on quickly. The dress has a nude under lining with a black lace over the top. The back stops at the bottom of my back and hugs my hips, flaring out halfway down my thighs. The sleeves are sheer lace and reach my wrists. Pulling out the shoes, they are studded black pumps that have a five-inch heel. The jewelry is simple. A large onyx ring for my right middle finger and a pair of black square cute diamond chandelier earrings.

Elena steps out and her dress is absolutely gorgeous. It is a column shaped dress that hugs her to her waist and falls gracefully to the floor. The lavender brings out the brown in her eyes and paired with her olive skin tone, she looked like an exotic princess. Touching her dress in wonder and I couldn't help but thank Alice a billion times in my head.

"I feel so pretty." She whispers. I smile at her, "You are absolutely stunning. Come on, check out your shoes."

She walks over and pulls open the box and gasps. The shoes are four-inch heel sandals with silver rhinestones on the straps. Her jewelry is a hair comb that I place in the middle of her twist shaped like a butterfly.

Her bracelet, since the dress doesn't have sleeves, is a cuff bracelet with amethysts that create the shape of a butterfly. Her earrings match. Opening the last box, there are two masks, hers is of course, a butterfly mask that I knew were going to make her eyes pop.

My mask is black lace with black feathers on either side. Slipping them on we check ourselves out. "We look amazing."

"I don't know Alice, but I love her." I giggle, "Alice is amazing when it comes to fashion. I remember the first time she picked out an outfit, I threw a fit but like everyone else when it comes to her, I caved."

There's a knock on the door that interrupted me going into the story of that day but I knew that there would be plenty of chances to tell Elena about it.

Opening the door, I wasn't at all surprised to see Stefan and Tyler are standing there. Stefan in a black jacket with a purple shirt that is the same shade as Elena's dress and purple rose in his front breast pocket. I couldn't help but think maybe Alice had a hand in that. Knowing her, she most likely did.

Tyler is dressed the same only with a red button up and a red rose. After seeing him, I knew for a fact she had a hand in their clothes.

"Wow. You two look amazing." Says Tyler in wonder. I smile, "We clean up alright."

Stefan holds his arm out for Elena who takes it. I take Tyler's and we start making our way down the halls. "Wait, where are your masks?" Stefan and Tyler pull them out of their pocket and put them on. "How do men fit such large things in their pockets?" I say in wonder. I hear Elena giggle at my question and her only answer was to shrug.

As we round the corner, the party was already in full swing. I was surprised I didn't hear all the noise when we were upstairs. Guess this house had pretty damn good sound proofing.

"I have to admit. I do have the most beautiful date tonight." I smile over at Tyler, "Well, I can assure you that I will have plenty of girls sending glares my way for being your date." I could see him blush a bit at my compliment.

"You know, you are one of the few girls that is pretty without makeup, when you get all dolled up like this, you are an absolute knockout." He says quietly.

"Are we just going to keep complimenting each other all night Tyler or are we going to join the party?" I say as we make our way down the stairs.

"Oh my god Elena!" I see Caroline make her way over, "You look stunning! Dani? Is that an original Alexander McQueen?" I chuckle, "You would be correct."

I can see the envy on her face, "I wish you were my cousin." She whined.

"Caroline what are you talking about? You look gorgeous." Elena says and I took the time to look at her dress. She was the epitome of Cinderella.

"Thanks. Tyler." She says sternly. "Hi Caroline." I could feel the tension and it was making me uncomfortable. "Why don't the two of you talk this out?" I say and making my way towards the bar. As I sit down to order a drink, I am interrupted by my phone going off and see Elijah's name glaring at me from the screen. I decided it was probably in my best interest to ignore the call. His siblings at to be close by and this was probably some ploy to get Kol riled up.

"What can I get you gorgeous?" I smile at the older bartender, "The lady will have a crown on the rocks."

"You seem to know me Mr. Salvatore."

"I never forget a beautiful face." Turning to him, "Well, for that, I guess you will have to allow me to buy you a drink. Bourbon for the gentleman." I tell the bartender.

Taking our glasses, I hooked my arm with his, "So, Elijah keeps shooting looks over here. Not one for subtlety is he?" I laugh, "No. He isn't." As we start heading towards the balcony Carol stops me. "Damon, if I may borrow Daniella here." I smile at Carol, "How can I help?" she smiles, "My husband was a huge fan of these functions. The masquerade was always his favorite. Generally, he and I would lead the first dance but since he passed, I was hoping you would be willing to do so with Tyler." I smile, "Of course. When does it start and what type of dance is it?"

She smiles and lets out a sigh of relief, "Generally a waltz but Tyler was hoping to do something more 'hip', as he likes to call it. So he was considering the tango." I raise both eyebrows at her suggestion.

"Really?" She gets a worried look on her face, "You do know how to tango don't you? Damon said you did." I smile sarcastically at Damon. "He would be correct." He smirked and took a sip of his drink, "I am going to announce it in a few minutes. Join me on the back stairs with Tyler?" I nod my head.

Slamming back my drink and then taking Damon's and slamming it back, "You are on my shit list Salvatore." I growl out. Handing him both glasses I turn and see Tyler standing next to his mother at the back door.

People were already making their way outside and down to the dance floor. Who does an inpromptu tango? Shit like this doesn't happen in the real world. I mean sure, crazier shit happens all the time but this? There was no rehearsal or time to prepare for this. How can anyone be expected to pull this off without any prep?

I couldn't help but look over at the front doors. My freedom and salvation from all of this mess. I mean, I didn't want to leave Tyler in a shitty position considering how nice he's been so far tonight but I don't want to have to dance in front of everyone. Damon already picked up on my train of thoughts after he followed my gaze and saw the longing look on my face.

"Oh no baby doll. I volunteered you for this and I will not have you make me look bad in front of one of the council members. Besides, I know you'll do great."

I leveled a glare at him that, with a few uttered words from me, would set his smug ass on fire. "Firstly, I'm being volunforced to do this because you know I would have shot it down if you actually asked me. Secondly, how am I supposed to keep a low profile with Kol if I am the center of fucking attention Damon? This is not how things are supposed to go down."

With a wave of his hand dismissing my rant, he leads me to the top of the stairs to stand next to Tyler and makes his way to the bottom going to stand next to Stefan, Elena and Caroline. I stop on Carol's right side and Tyler is on her left.

Grabbing the mic, she clears her throat to get everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you for joining us here at Lockwood Estate on this beautiful night. My late husband loved masquerades and tradition would be he and I would lead the first dance of the evening. With his recent passing, that has been passed down to my son and his lovely date. Please join me in giving them a round of applause."

She begins clapping and so does everyone else. "Tonight, they will be gracing us with a tango." She gestures to the two of us.

"Start up here and then work your way down in the first 16 beats." I wave his hand off, "I know how to do this Tyler." Once again praying to a God I don't believe in, I beg that he doesn't let me screw up. Tyler nods his head and makes his way to the bottom of the stairs. As he reaches the bottom a spotlight goes on the both of us. The music starts, and I begin making my way slowly down the stairs moving my body in beat to the music.

As I reach him, he pulls me to him and starts to lead me across the floor. As the music speeds up he begins spinning me and if I weren't a vampire, I probably would have fallen over. At moments we are just inches from touching which added to the sexual tension effect the tango is supposed to give.

As the music goes into a slow instrumental break, Damon steps forward and taps Tyler on the shoulder, I can see them share the same smirk. They planned this shit didn't they? When in the hell did they have time to plan this? Damon was basically living at my house for the past week drinking up all my booze.

However, I had to admit, Damon is the best partner in dancing I have ever had. He dances like he hunts, and I always enjoyed watching him hunt. As he starts to step towards me, I back up, each step in time with the music.

Turning to 'go' up the stairs, I feel him grab my hand and spin me to him. Leading me in the rest of the tango he ends it with a dip and my leg wrapped around his hip. Everyone starts applauding and cheering. Thankfully I kept my face turned away from the crowd for most of it which was a pain in the ass. With a low curtsey I stand and exit the floor with Damon towards our group.

"Holy shit Dani! That was hot." I smile at Elena's words, "Thanks. Damon and I used to tango all the time when we drank. He's the best partner I've ever had. Although," I say giving Tyler a wink, "Tyler may be better."

I could almost hear Damon roll his eyes, "As if. I'm the best at everything I do and you know it." I shrug and was immediately ready with a retort to knock him down a peg, when I hear a throat clear from behind me.

"Mr. Salvatore, perhaps you will introduce us to your friends." I frown, damn it Elijah. Your meddlesome bastard and I hope you know that. Before I could even start pleading with God to get me out of this, my phone rings. Pulling it out and keeping my head down, "Excuse me." I say rushing through the crowd in the opposite direction from them.

Looking at the caller id, it wasn't God, but it might as well have been divine intervention.

"Thank you Alice." I say to her. She lets out a giggle, "You are so going to let me plan your wedding too." I snort, "I have no plans on getting married."

"Whatever you say cuz. Don't turn around. Love you." She hangs up. Stupid cryptic pixie. Walking forward I could catch a faint whiff of Kol from a breeze that blew his scent in my direction. Turning to take in the crowd, I see Tyler talking to Matt.

I walk up and loop my arm with Tyler's, "Hello Matt." I say smiling at him, "Hey Dani. Haven't seen you much. I know Bonnie is around here looking for you." I take a quick glimpse around me and notice Stefan is occupying Kol and they seem to be getting along. "If you see Bonnie, let her know I'll be at the bar." With that I take my leave and make my way over to another bartender. "Crown and coke please."

"My brother is very determined to find you." Says Elijah with humor in his voice. "Well, if I have my way, he won't get the chance to talk to me. I have several people running interference. So, even though you are trying your hardest to get this reunion to happen, it seems luck is on my side." Taking my drink and making my way towards the fountain on the back of the estate, I take a seat on its edge.

"Well, I can honestly say, you are the most breath taking creature I have ever seen."

"Well, I must say you are most dashing in a suit. It suits you. No pun intended." He chuckles at my awful joke.

"That was terrible." I nod my head and laugh, "Indeed it was. I have a feeling I won't be able to dodge him much longer considering I should be paying more attention to my date. I came here with Tyler but I haven't been a very good plus one thanks to you and your brother." I say with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Well you know the only way to face this is to just accept the fact you can't dodge him forever. What is the humans say? Oh yes, treat it like a band aid." He says.

"I've done a pretty good job for the last thousand years." He nods, "That's true but you must have figured out that if you run, I will chase you. Which would lead to my siblings following me and honestly, I would hate to uproot them when they are just settling down."

I shake my head, "I'm done running. At least from you, Kol on the other hand..." I trail off and make my way to the house. As soon as I step into the house I hear my name being called by Bonnie. I stop and turn to her and see a worries look on her face.

"Bonnie? What's wrong?" She starts breathing heavy, "I'm so sorry Dani. I tried to stop Caroline but she was adamant." I give her a confused look, "Adamant about what?"

"She was kind of pissed that Tyler brought you as her date and even though she doesn't mean anything malicious behind it, she's taking a bit of payback." Giving Bonnie a look of confusion, she points towards Caroline and I see the Mikaelsons staring at her in shock except Elijah who is looking at me with a smirk plastered to his face.

I let out a low growl. "Caroline, I am going to murder you." She looks at me and smiles while shrugging her shoulders. At that moment all the rest of the Mikaelsons turn to look at me but my eyes connected with only one person. Kol Mikaelson.


	5. Chapter 5

Kol immediately starts making his way towards me with Elijah holding the others back. I look at Bonnie, "Thanks for the heads up. Try to stall him." I whisper and she nods. I pull her the rest of the way inside and use my magic to seal the doors.

"I got this Dani. Go!" she says. With a nod, I take off towards the stairs and up to the room that I got ready in. Hoping for enough time to change and get the hell out of there.

Walking in, I close the door and before I can even start grabbing my clothes, I hear it open and close again. Spinning to look behind me, there he is. Looking sinfully handsome in his tux.

"I knew it was you." He says looking at me as if I were a ghost.

I turn my back to him, "I don't know what you expect me to say Kol."

"Just, don't turn away from me. Please. I've spent the past thousand years hoping one day I would see your face again. Please don't turn away." He says desperately.

Turning back to him, I can't bring myself to meet his eyes. I hear him walk up to me and I could see my reflection in his shoes. As his hands came up to remove my mask, I closed my eyes and prayed for strength not to just fall in to his arms.

"Look at me darling." He whispers. Never being able to fight his voice, I slowly look up and into his deep brown eyes. He puts his hands on either side of my face and begins looking it over closely.

"You are so beautiful my Ellie." He runs his right thumb over my lips and his left hand down my bare neck.

Closing my eyes and fighting the whimper building in my chest, "What are you doing Kol?"

He chuckles, "I'm greeting my fiancé that has been missing, presumed dead, for the past thousand years." Grabbing his hands and pulling them down with mine.

I open my eyes to meet his gaze, "Your fiancé has been dead for over a thousand years. I'm but a shell of who I was Kol. I'm not the girl you once knew. Just like I know you aren't the boy I fell in love with all that time ago."

Stepping back, I can see the hurt flash across his face. He puts his hands into his pocket and looks down. "So you don't love me anymore?" He asks. I know I should say know but I never could lie to Kol.

"Not love you? Are you mad? I've spent the last thousand loving and hating you equally." He looks up at me and smiles.

"So you do love me?" I let out an irritated growl, "Of course I do, you daft man." Letting out a huff of frustration, "But as much as I love you, I don't know if we would ever work Kol."

"How can you write us off without even giving us a chance? Ever since I entered this blasted town I have felt the pull in chest. Are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you haven't?"

Knowing he makes a valid point was hard to swallow. You see, I have always been two steps ahead of everyone in my life. It's how I've lived this long. I thought I had prepared myself for this. I thought I could brush him off and ignore him. Yeah, that plan went up quicker than a trailer in a tornado.

"Yes I've felt it Kol. I felt it the second Elijah and I got to Chicago." I wanted to slap myself as soon as that sentence left my mouth.

He scowls, "So you were there? That was your scent I came across in the hotel? You one the phone?" I nod my head.

"Why didn't you stay?" I could tell that hurt him and that just didn't sit well with me. I hate how much of an affect he still brings out in me.

"I wasn't ready Kol. I'm still not ready to see you. Yet here you are standing in front of me looking too damn sinful for your own good." I let out with a groan and a flail of my arms.

"Then why haven't I kissed you yet?" He asks with small smirk, "Because I won't let you." He laughs, "You can't stop me darling." Cocking a well-manicured eyebrow at him, "Is that what you think?" At my words, something shifted in his stance. His eyes darkened and a mischievous smug smirk made its way onto his handsome face.

I suddenly felt like I was being stalked by a predator and wouldn't I be damned if it didn't do delicious things to me.

As he starts moving towards me, I find myself backing up towards the bed. As soon as my knees hit the bed he is in front of me leaning down. Just as he is about to kiss me I hear a shrill voice yell out.

"Damn it Kol! You've had her long enough! Let me see my sister." I laugh at the interruption. Blurring towards the door, clearly shocking Kol, I pull the door open and find myself pulled into a squealing blonde known as Rebekah Mikaelson.

"Oh my god Dani! I've missed you so much!" She pulls back and pouts, "Do you have any idea how dreadful things have been with nothing but these bastards around me?" I smile, "I've missed you too Bekah." She squeals again at my nick name and pulls me back in for another hug.

I hear a throat clear and Bekah lets me go. Nik looks at me with a smile on his face. "Hello Little Dove." I smile at Nik, "Hello Nik." He pulls me into a hug and I couldn't help but smile. Being in his arms reminded me of simpler times.

Pulling back, he touches my face, "Seems you have some explaining to do love." I nod my head, "Not here. If you are all partied out, we can continue this conversation at my home over drinks."

With a nod of their heads, I make my way out of the room and back outside. As I made my way over to Tyler, I couldn't help but smile back at him. His smile was just infectious.

"Hey gorgeous. What can I do for you?"

"Fix things with Caroline so she will stop pouting and meddling in other peoples business? Also, for the sake of everything holy and my sanity, never invite me to one of these things again." I say with mirth in my voice. He chuckles and nods his head.

Making my way to Damon, Stefan and Elena I could see all of them tense a little bit.

"Hey, I'm taking off. Elena, will you be okay?" She looks warily at the Originals and then back at me.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I snort, "They won't hurt me. I'll call you in the morning and we can discuss everything. Stefan, try not to kill anyone's buzz tonight?" He pulls a drink to his lips trying to hide a smile.

"I promise nothing." He says into his glass. Shaking my head, I look to Damon, "I got this baby doll. Go have your family reunion." He says kissing my forehead. I could hear growl come from Kol and I wanted to laugh at it but instead I did what I wanted to do since earlier in the evening.

Grabbing Damon by the scruff of his neck and yanking his head to the side, "If you ever pull the same shit you did tonight with the dancing, I will make you my bitch for at least a decade. Think, Paris 1920." He grunts, "Got it princess." I let him go, "Good night Damon."

Turning to the others, "Shall we?" Making my way outside to the valet, "My car." He nods and runs off. My car pulls up and I frown, "Not everyone is going to fit."

"I know where the house is. I'll meet you there." Says Elijah. Nodding my head, I make my way around the driver's side and get in. Taking off my shoes I toss them onto the back-floor board. Rebekah and Nik slide in the back and Kol gets in front. Making my way out of the Lockwood estate, it is a silent car ride during the twenty-minute drive to my house.

As I turn onto my driveway, I hear Nik chuckle, "We appear to be neighbors." Smiling to myself, "Is that so? Well, there goes the neighborhood." He barks out a laugh as I pull to a stop in front of the house.

Getting out of the car, Kol lets out a whistle, "I should have figured your taste would be similar to mine." I snort, "Please, if anything, you take after me." Making my way towards the door, I unlock the house and turn to the other three who staring at me expectantly.

"Rebekah, please come in." She smiles sticking her tongue out at her brothers. "Kol, if you would please come in." He smiles and brushes up against me as he comes in leaving goosebumps down my arms. I turn to Nik who is looking at me expectantly.

"What's wrong pup?" He playfully growls, "Let me in little dove." I smile, "If I don't?" He shakes his head, "Let me in little dove or else." I chuckle, "Or else what? You gonna huff and puff and blow my house down?"

Kol lets out a loud laugh and Bekah giggles. "Please come in," I stop and see Elijah approach, "Elijah." I could see Nik try to take a step in and growl at his brother. "Please come in Nik." I say.

He steps into the house, "Ha. Ha." He says walking towards my living room. "I thought it was quite humorous." Kol says following him.

Elijah shakes his head and follows them as well. "Dani? Please tell me you have something I can change into? This dress is itchy." I take the time to look over her dress. It's white with a black underskirt and studded details on the sweetheart strapless top. "Of course. We are about the same size."

We make our way up the stairs and towards my room. "You have so many bedrooms." She says in awe. "Never know who will stop by." I say off-handedly.

Walking into my room she gasps, "This is beautiful. I wish Nik would have done something like this for my room but instead it's pinks. Who in the world wants to sleep in a pink room?" I smile walking to my closet, opening it she steps in with me.

"Do you mind if I crash here tonight?" I smile. "Of course not. I guess sleep clothes then?" She nods. Walking over to my dresser, I pull out a pair of white pajama bottoms and black tank top and hand them to her. "Bathroom is through that door." She nods and walks in there to change.

Pulling out a pair of black yoga pants and a red tank top. I walk into my closet. Carefully stripping off my dress, I hang it up and put my clothes on. Taking my hair down and letting it fall down my back in curls, I make my way out to see Rebekah standing there holding her dress.

"Do you want me to hang it up for you?" She shakes her head, "No. I'm just going to burn it." I laugh, "Good idea. Come on, I don't want the men to drink up all of my liquor." She smiles.

Looping her arm with me, we make our way downstairs and into the living room to see all of them with their ties hanging loosely around their neck, the top button undone and their coats draped over a chair. Tossing her dress over the same chair, Bekah takes up a spot next to Kol. Shaking my head at almost all of the Mikaelson children sitting in my living room, I walk into the library and bring back five glasses and the bottle of bourbon.

Setting the glasses down, I fill them each, mine to the top. Setting the bottle down, I lean against my desk and take a sip.

"Did any of you ever meet Henry the VIII?" I ask breaking the tension in the room. They all shake their heads. "That's too bad. Married the prick for a while. Till he tried to have my head cut off." I say with a smirk.

"Wait, what do you mean you married him?" I shrug at Nik's question, "Exactly that. Never slept with the man. When I didn't produce an heir, he tried to have my head cut off. Of course, he and everyone that day in the Tower of London thought he had." I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "So you are saying, you were once a queen, truly?" Rebekah asks in wonder.

"Of course. Did you never try it?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "No. It never occurred to me. Damn, I probably should have." I shake my head, "Nah. You would have gotten bored. Always meetings, and dinners, and war planning." I shiver at the memory of when I had to kiss the man. "Not the most pleasant of experiences?" Kol asks with an amused smirk.

"Honestly? No. But the jewels I got out of it fetched a hefty price during an auction eighty years ago." I say with a smirk mirroring his own.

"What else did you do?"

"A little of this, a little of that. We never stayed more than a few years in any given place." I can see Nik get a confused look on his face, "We?" I nod my head, "My uncle Phillip and my Cousin Mathias." I could see Rebekah perk up at his name, "Mathias is still alive?"

"He is. He is currently in Washington State with our pack helping a local shape shifter pack." At least that's where I assumed Alice sent them. Perhaps I should call and find out.

I could see Nik perk up at this, "You have a pack?" Rolling my eyes, "Of course I do. I am part werewolf after all. Sorry to break it to you sweetheart but you are not the only hybrid in town." I stop and start contemplating that.

Am I hybrid? Is a tri-brid a thing? Is it even a word? "Well actually that's not entirely correct." I could see the confused looks, "You're not a hybrid?" Rebekah asks confused, "Oh no I am. But..." I turn to Elijah, "What would you call me? I mean, when I can do this..." I snap my fingers and fireplace ignites.

I can see their eyes go wide, apart from Elijah. "How did you do that?" Kol asks in wonder, "I'm not just a werewolf and vampire. I'm a thousand-year-old witch as well."

"I don't understand. I lost my powers with the change, how did you keep them?" I let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I owe you my story then?" Pulling my desk chair around to sit between Rebekah and Elijah.

Refilling my glass, I slightly slouch and extend my legs in front of my crossing them at the ankles. Staring into the fire.

As I told them my story, I could occasionally hear gasps or uncomfortable shifting in their seats. Sure, they had seen part of what happened based on what I saw through Elijah's eyes but to hear it was completely different. As I caught them up, Nik asked why we ended up in Mystic Falls to begin with.

"Originally, we came to town because we were hoping Tyler Lockwood would be showing signs of transition, but he's just an innocent kid who has no real knowledge of what he is. The second I saw Elena, everything shifted. No longer was I worried about my pack. My revenge. Everything was about protecting her. Cause at the time, until Elijah so graciously corrected me, the true culprit behind the killings was a mystery to us."

Letting out a heavy sigh and slamming rest of my glass back I stare into the bottom of my empty glass. "We have been under the impression for the last thousand years, that it was the four of you, and Finn, responsible. When I first saw Elijah, I was ready to kill him."

I could see the shock on their faces, "You thought we had done it?" Rebekah asked in shock. I nodded my head, "After what happened to Henrik?" They all nod their heads in somewhat understanding, "Why didn't you ask us?" Nik asked, "If all it takes in flushing out the truth is asking for it, then we wouldn't need due process."

"True. So, you left on our wedding day, to repeat the spell our mother created and you've been walking around with a thousand-year-old grudge?" I snort, "Well, when you put it like that...pretty much."

"So you can't turn into a wolf anymore?" I shake my head, "I've actually never turned into one. Nor has my uncle or cousin. When I performed the spell, nature asked for a sacrifice. I sacrificed my wolf to a degree. I can still lead a pack. I have dual fangs. My eyes glow red and my nails grow long."

They grew silent in thought. Rolling everything I said in their heads no doubt. "So, why are you so intent on protecting Elena?" Nik asks.

"She's technically family, just not by blood. Her uncle used to be married to the last living member of my brother's bloodline. Their daughter is now a cold one. Although, she did have a half cold one daughter, so maybe it will continue. Not entirely sure." I say as an afterthought.

"Nik. Elijah. I almost forgot. I have a present for you. Well, it was also a present to myself but you know details." I say gesturing them to follow me.

"Trapping her was a bitch and you can thank the Salvatore brothers for it."

Walking down stairs I go through a heavy door into the cell them towards the door holding Katherine, they pull back the metal slot and see her slowly desiccating.

"That is a very wonderful gift indeed. Hello Katerina. Seems your running as come to an end." Nik says with a dark chuckle. "Just...kill. Me..." I shake my head, "Oh no. You, are going to be the vampire sacrifice for Nik's ritual. Only fitting since you were supposed to die in the first one, no?"

"How did they manage to catch her?" Elijah asks curiously. "Well, it's probably a bit over exaggerated but from what Damon told me…"

*********************************Damon POV**************************************

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Stefan asked me with a frustrated sigh. "Per my friends…" Stefan holds up a hand, "You don't have any friends. Except Dani but she's everyone's friend." I roll my eyes at my brothers jab and keep walking through the neighborhood she was supposed to be holed up in.

"As I was saying before you decided to interrupt. Bonnie did a tracking spell on her. Took her a while and few bloody noses but she came through." Stefan stopped again and crossed his arms with a furrowed brow. "What do mean Bonnie? Since when are you and Bonnie friends?"

I wave my hand at him dismissing his comment. "You have sorely misjudged our relationship. Bonnie and I, it's a hate/hate kind of relationship but, when it comes to protecting Elena, she's always up for it. So, friend of my enemy…well you get the picture." I say stopping in front of a house that screamed Katherine. It was in pristine condition and had the beacon for all vampires in the front yard. Also known as a foreclosure sign.

As I begin making my way up to the door, Stefan stops me again. "You are really starting to get on my last nerve brother." He looks up at the house, "Do you have a plan?"

I give him an affronted look and gesture to myself, "This is my we are talking about Stefan. Since when have I ever needed a plan?" He shakes his head, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Of course, I knew what I was doing. I was Damon fucking Salvatore. The badder and better brother. Katherine wouldn't be able to resist my charms. At least, that's what I was telling myself.

As I got to the door, I knocked and put my hands in my pockets where I had a syringe of vervain stashed. When Katherine opens the door, I could tell by her slightly wide eyes she had no idea we were coming. "Damon. Stefan. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She says with a purr on her lips and it actually sent a shiver of disgust down my spine.

Giving her my best smile, we walk in and she closes the door behind us. "We've come to make you a deal." She crosses her arm and looks expectantly between us. "What could you possibly be offering and better yet, what do you want in return?"

I smile and lean against the archway separating the foyer and the living room. "We have something that can kill Klaus." I say with a cocky smirk. "Oh really? You are going to tell me you have a white oak stake?"

"We do. Damon and I have it hidden of course but we have a way to put down Klaus and protect Elena but we need your help to make it happen."

She smiles, "I'm listening. What do you want me to do?" I knew at that point we had her hooked. "Well, a good friend of mine, who's name I won't mention yet, has a way to pull him out of hiding. He's already contacted her and he is really pissed off." I say widening my eyes to emphasize my point.

"So basically she hates Klaus as much as we do since he wiped out her family like he did yours. We are offering you an in on taking him out. Hell, if you are super cooperative, we'll even let you drive the stake in." Stefan says with a dark crooked grin on his face.

"What did you want in return?" She asks a bit suspicious. I admit, it seemed too good to be true. I mean, of course it was but the bitch didn't need to know that.

"We need you fill in as Elena for a few days while we put her in hiding. That way, he won't suspect you're you and we keep Elena safe. Also, we plan on distracting him with your big reveal so we can take him down. Our friend happens to be a witch so you'll be perfectly safe."

Ha! If she only knew how much baby doll hated her. Oh wait, she does. "So all I have to do is pretend to be Elena and your witch will put him down so we can stake him?"

"Yep." I say popping the 'p'. "You in?" I could see she was running the plan through her head. Trying to find any kind of trick. If she only knew, she was the only one being tricked.

"Alright. Fine. I'm in. When do I need to start pretending to be human?" The way she said it was full of such disgust that it took everything for me not to just snap her neck. "Sooner the better. Since it's dark, we can probably get you to the Boarding House undetected."

She sighs and walks into another room coming back with her coat on. "This had better not be a trick Damon. Stefan," She says rubbing a hand up his chest, "I am willing to forgive. But you on the other hand…" She leaves the comment hanging as she walks out of the door. Using her little foreplay with my brother as a distraction, I pull the syringe out and blur up behind her.

Shoving it in her neck, I could see it already take effect. "Nighty night Katherine. Next time you wake up, please give my regards to Klaus." I say snapping her neck. I let out a chuckle of satisfaction. Snapping her neck was a rush. It was almost too bad it was over so quick.

"You're carrying her." I say to Stefan blurring off. I could hear him growl and soon he was falling in step just behind me. About ten minutes later we come up on Ella's house. As we walk in, she comes out of the library with a smug smile on her face.

"It must be my birthday." She says looking at Katherine and then to the two of us. "You wanted, we got her. Where do you want her?" She gestures for us to follow her to a door that was nestled behind the stairs leading to the second floor.

As she pulls the door open, we start following her with Katherine in tow down a flight of stairs into the basement. As she goes straight, she pulls open a heavy steel door with leading to a cell with a metal table in the middle. "Put her here." She says walking to a cabinent on the wall. As we unceremoniously drop her body, I could tell she was starting to come to. Snapping her neck again, I couldn't get over how much fun it was.

"So satisfying." I say to myself. "I'm sure it is. I would rather kill her now and get it over with but she's a bargaining chip against Klaus in case he doesn't want to play nice." She says with her back still turned to us. A few minutes later, she is coming back over with a large syringe filled with who knows what. She slams it into Katherine's heart and injects it.

Immediately Katherine started turning grey and desiccating. "Remind me never to piss you off." I mumble to her. She giggles, "Please Damon. Your sole purpose in this life is to piss me off." She says while tossing the syringe into a waste bin.

"How long will this hold her for?" Stefan asks eyeing Katherine carefully, "She'll be unconscious for a few days and then she will wake up and be in so much pain she will be unable to move. If she does somehow manage to get up, she won't get through the cell door. Trust me, she isn't going anywhere."

"I love it when you're evil." I say to her and she rolls her eyes holding up a hand. "Sorry Damon. That ship has sailed." I pretended to not know what she meant but part of me was disappointed we wouldn't have a repeat of our time together decades ago.

"I was just paying you a compliment. You could do the polite thing and say thank you. I mean, it's just good manners." She snorts at me and begins making her way out of the room gesturing us to follow her. "You only compliment me when you want sex Damon. It's not happening. Also, you are the last person I would take advice from when it comes to manners."

****************************Daniella's POV*****************************************

"I am liking the Salvatore brothers the more I hear of them. So, it was really that easy to trick her?" I shrug, "Per Damon and Stefan, yeah. You scare her that much Nik. I honestly don't see it." I say looking at him critically.

Walking back upstairs while they tease Katherine, I make my way back into the library. Refilling my glass, I go to stand in front of the fireplace staring into the flames. Taking a sip, I let out a sigh.

How crazy have things become? I went from no Mikaelson, to one Mikaelson, now to almost all of them. I wonder if Nik knows where his father is? I should ask him so I can stake the son of a bitch out.

"What's on your mind darling?" I smile at his pet name, "How I can't wait to drive one of my white oak stakes through your father's heart for murdering my family." He comes to stand behind me and I could feel his breath on my neck.

"You have white oak stakes?" I nod my head. "Five in fact. I knew that was the only thing that could kill you all, so I spent centuries waiting for a new one to grow. When it did, right here in Mystic Falls in fact, I commissioned a table made from it. As soon as it arrived, I whittled them down into stakes. But now, I only have them for your father. Once he is dead, I will destroy what remains."

I could feel his hands come up my bare arms and onto my shoulders, "What are you doing Kol?" I ask in a heavy breath, "You look stressed darling. I'm just trying to relax you." He says with a teasing tone; I step forward and turn to look at him. "You, Kol Mikaelson, are not as smooth as you think you are." I brush past him and make my way towards the kitchen.

"How large is this house?" Rebekah asks walking into the kitchen, "Too big for just me anymore. I'm thinking about selling it and just getting an apartment in town or something." I say with a shrug.

"I have an idea." Kol says with a Cheshire smile. "Oh this can't be good. You have that look." He looks affronted, "What look? This is just my face darling." I shake my hand and put my hands on my hips, "The same look you would get whenever you snuck cake when your mother would bake." I say with a shake of my head. Not liking at all what he could be thinking.

"Just hear me out darling. Why don't we get rid of our house and move in here with you?" As he says this, I take a drink and I nearly spit out my mouth full of bourbon. Forcing it down I look at him like he's insane.

"With the way you four fight? Half my house would be destroyed before the weeks out." I see Rebekah pout, "Please Dani? It's been so long since I could live with another woman. All the testosterone is suffocating me." She says as she mimes that she's choking.

"It would allow us to work closer together. Protecting Elena would be easier since she would be comfortable with you than just us." Nik offers.

"You only care for your ritual Nik. Don't pretend you truly care for her wellbeing." He feigns like he is hurt, "You wound me little dove."

Letting out a sigh and looking at each of them, lingering a little longer on Kol than necessary. He winks and damn it, I'm sold.

"Fine. You guys can move in. Let's go figure out rooms for you." I stop and turn to them holding out a finger, "One scratch on any surface on any spot in this house, I will have all your asses." Turning on my heel I lead them up the right staircase. Turning down the right hall I stop two doors down, "Rebekah, your room if you like it."

She steps in and looks. A white four post bed sits in the middle with a matching vanity against the wall behind it. The bed has a soft blue duvet with white and blue pillows of various sizes. An oak dresser with a matching changing screen next to it. The oak wood floors are the same color as the dresser as well. I walk over to the closet and open the double doors, "This is the second largest closet, after mine, in the house."

There are several racks and the entire back wall has cubbies for shoes. Walking into the bathroom, it is basic white with a large claw tub and steel shower head with a curtain that wraps completely around the tub. "I figure that it's mainly white, you can give it your own touch with colors and the such."

"I love it. It's like a blank canvas."

Leaving her to check out her room, I gesture for the boys to follow me. "Elijah. I think you will find this to your liking." Opening the door, the room has a crème carpet floor. The bed was a cedar sleigh bed with a dark green comforter and white sheets. The pillows were green with white stripes down them. To the left was a matching desk and high back brown leather chair. A small bookshelf against the right wall.

"Closet." I say pointing to the first door. "Bathroom." I say pointing the second door. He walks over and opens it, the floor is tiled in a checker pattern of brown and white. The shower was a step in with a large shower head. "Sorry, no tub in that one." He shakes his head, "I have never been one for baths."

With that I walk out of the room and lead the remaining to the last two rooms at the end of the hall. "Nik, for you." I say gesturing. He opens the door and there is a Brazilian cherry bed with gold blanket, black sheets and matching pillows. A matching desk and dresser. The floor was the same color carpet as Elijah's. I point to the first door, "Closet." I point to the second, "Bathroom." He walks into the bathroom and sees a black marble sink with gold faucets. Black tiled floor, white walls and a white tub with multiple shower heads coming from the walls and a glass door to seal it.

"It's like you designed it with me in mind." I snorted, "No. The bedrooms except my own, were designed by two very good friends of mine."

Turning to Kol, "Last but certainly least." I say and he smirks. "This room is for you."

I open the door and he doesn't even look in it. "I don't like it." I shrug, "Okay. I have five more."

Gesturing to follow me to the other end of the house. I open the first door. He once again doesn't even look at it, "Don't like it." I roll my eyes. We repeat this process with the remaining empty rooms.

"What in the actual hell Kol? I just showed you six bedrooms and you shot them all down." He smiles seductively, "You didn't show me your room."

"You are not sleeping in my room Kol."

He shrugs, "You say that, but you could still show it to me." With a roll of my eyes, I open the large double doors leading into my bedroom. He makes his way over to my bed and jumps back onto it putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the headboard.

"I like this one." I put my hands on my hips and shake my head, "Oh no. You aren't sleeping in my room Kol." He kicks his shoes off and slides down so he is laying down. "Are you going to move me?" With a flick of my wrist the mattress flips off the bed and lands on the floor with loud thud.

"Guess that answers your question?" I say with a smile on my face. He crawls halfway from under the mattress with disheveled hair and a large grin. "You're going to pay for that." I smile at him and make my way to balcony. Opening the doors, I walk to the railing and stand up on it. Spinning to face him, I can see he is pulling himself out from under mattress and trying to salvage his hair. The second he stands I smirk at him, "What could you possibly do?"


End file.
